PARIS, June 24 — Lamine Diack, the disgraced former head of world athletics’ ruling body the IAAF, and his son Papa Massata Diack are to stand trial in France on charges of corruption and money laundering, sources told AFP.

Diack was IAAF president between 1999-2015 but his reign ended in chaos amid charges he and his son obstructed sanctions against Russia for doping in return for payments.

Papa Massata Diack, who has never been questioned by French officials, is one of five others who will face trial on the same charges.

The French investigation into Diack began in 2015 when Britain’s Sebastian Coe took over from the 86-year-old Senegalese as IAAF president.

French prosecutors took up the case because they suspect money was laundered in France. 

The backdrop to the investigation is the system of state-sponsored doping uncovered in Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Prosecutors allege that Lamine Diack was prepared to accept funding for political campaigns in Senegal in return for IAAF anti-doping officials turning a blind eye to Russian athletes caught doping. — AFP