PARIS (AP) — Newspaper Le Monde says former IAAF President Lamine Diack told French police he asked for 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) from Russia to help finance the political opposition in his native Senegal. The request came at a time when the IAAF was dealing with a slew of Russian doping cases.
Police took Diack into custody in November for questioning, and Le Monde says it has seen transcripts of the hearings.
Le Monde says Diack told his questioners that he asked for the money in 2011 from Valentin Balakhnichev, then president of the Russian track and field federation.