The President of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Tamas Ajan, 80, has been accused of corruption in a documentary broadcasted by the German ARD channel.
In a documentary broadcast on Sunday, the Hungarian is presented as someone who has helped athletes to evade doping controls and has enriched himself with money given to the IWF by the International Olympic Committee.
The documentary shows that nearly half of the 450 medalists from the Olympics and world championships between 2008 and 2017 were not controlled outside of competition during the year of their success.
"There were no controls because they knew that the tests would be positive," said Spanish weightlifter Lydia Valentin, who received the London Olympic gold medal only after the three medalists were tested positive in new tests.
Doubts have also been expressed about the fact that in most of the international competitions, Hunado, the Hungarian anti-doping agency, was conducting the doping checks.
It was only at the 2015 World Cup held in the USA that the US Agency USADA entered the race, which allowed 24 weightlifters to be caught immediately.
ARD claims to have proof that Hunado committed fraud. "Ajan represents a system that made doping in weightlifting possible throughout the recent decades," President of the German Federation Christian Baumgartner said in reaction.
ARD also reports on documents that reveal that at least five million dollars paid to the IWF by the International Olympic Committee were transferred to Swiss accounts for which Ajan has sole control.
Ajan has declined to comment on the accusations.
The Brussels Times
