IOC look into London ticket claims
The International Olympic Committee are facing a London 2012 ticket scandal after allegations surfaced that Olympic officials and agents controlling tickets for 54 countries breached regulations on sales.
The IOC have held an emergency meeting of their ruling executive board via conference call after undercover investigations by the Sunday Times newspaper.
The allegations are now to be investigated by the IOC's ethics commission, a senior IOC source has confirmed. The IOC will also consider a complete shake-up of how Olympic tickets are distributed among member countries.
The Sunday Times, posing as envoys of a Middle Eastern ticket tout, say they found 27 officials and agents representing 54 countries who were willing to breach rules on selling tickets.
One, from Serbia, offered 1,500 tickets for £80,000 in cash, said the newspaper, while they allege China's official ticket agency agreed to sell the best seats in the stadiums for up to £6,000 each.
Spyros Capralos, the president of Greece's Olympic committee, is also alleged to have breached regulations, says the Sunday Times.
An IOC statement read: "The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has moved quickly to deal with allegations that some National Olympic Committees (NOC) and Authorised Ticket Resellers (ATR) have broken rules relating to the sale of Olympic tickets.
"After claims that several NOCs and ATRs were reportedly willing to break the rules by offering to buy or sell tickets outside their territory, sell tickets at inflated prices, or sell tickets to unauthorised resellers, the IOC has ordered an immediate inquiry and referred the allegations to its independent ethics commission.
"On being informed of the allegations, the IOC immediately convened an extraordinary meeting of its executive board and determined a number of actions - the convening of the ethics commission and asking for any evidence of wrongdoing to be provided to the commission without delay.
"The IOC takes these allegations very seriously and has immediately taken the first steps to investigate. Should any irregularities be proven, the organisation will deal with those involved in an appropriate manner."
