The Olympic Council of Ireland have had to deny involvement in a ticket touting scandal after Irish allocated tickets were found in the hands of two suspects arrested by Brazilian police last Friday.
The Guardian reported the OCI statement this evening.
The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) has no knowledge of the two individuals arrested. The OCI has launched an immediate investigation with our ATR (authorised ticket reseller), Pro10, into how the individuals were allegedly in possession of OCI allocated tickets. The OCI strictly adheres to the IOC regulations around ticket allocation, sale and re-sale. We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness.
On Friday, Irishman Kevin James Mallon, and a Brazilian translator named Barbara Carnieri were detained.
The police say they caught the pair 'red-handed' in a Rio hotel selling tickets at an inflated value.
It was originally reported that the pair work for The THG Sports group, a sports hospitality group which is owned by Ipswich Town Marcus Evans. There is no suggestion that Evans has any involvement in these activities.
The local media say that Mallon is a director of the company while Carnieri was a translator hired three months ago. They are not listed as such on the company website.
THG Sports Tours were the authorised ticket reseller for the Olympic Council of Ireland for the 2012 Olympics. The deal was agreed as far back as 2007.
However, for the Rio Olympics, the OCI appointed Irish company Pro10 as their authorised ticket reseller.
It is unclear how Irish allocated tickets were acquired by these two individuals allegedly connected with another company.
The THG CEO James Sinton was arrested in Brazil in 2014 for organising what the police called a 'ticketing mafia'. He was fined.
