skip to main content

Brazilian police seeking arrest warrant for third Irish man

Hundreds of tickets marked for the Olympic Council of Ireland were seized
Hundreds of tickets marked for the Olympic Council of Ireland were seized

Brazilian police are seeking an arrest warrant for a third Irish man in connection with the alleged mis-selling of Olympic tickets.

Police have said they are seeking a warrant for the arrest of Martin Burke, who works for the Olympic Council of Ireland.

They said the warrant that is sought relates to spreadsheets found on Mr Burke's computer hard drive, which they claim connect him to the alleged mis-selling of tickets.

A spokesperson for the OCI said they have not received any official communication from authorities in Rio regarding Mr Burke and as such cannot issue any statement.

Meanwhile, one of the lead investigators into the alleged ticket-touting has said no one from the International Olympic Committee has approached Brazilian police since Mr Hickey's arrest.

Mr Hickey, who has temporarily stood aside as president of the OCI during the investigation, faces a number of charges.

Speaking in Rio, Ricardo Barbosa said "no one from the IOC" has approached police to ask any questions or clarify procedures since Mr Hickey's arrest.

Brazilian police have also revealed they are interested in speaking to Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, as a witness in the case.

They had anticipated Mr Bach would be in Rio for Wednesday's Paralympic Games opening ceremony, but the German was not in attendance and will not be attending any of the games.

Police referred to text messages between Mr Bach and Mr Hickey, in which Mr Hickey requested additional tickets for high-demand events during the games. 

Police said that an additional 296 tickets were allocated to the OCI following the text conversation.

Earlier the public prosecutor responsible for the case said Mr Hickey and Mr Mallon, the Dublin-based Finance Director with international sports hospitality company  THG Sports, could face between eight and ten years in prison if convicted.

A judge is expected to decide in the coming days whether or not their cases should be accepted or rejected.

If the go ahead is given for a trial it could be up to 18 months before it is concluded.

Prosecutor Marcus Kac told RTÉ News the offences involved can attract sentences of up to 20 years, but upon conviction first-time offenders would see this reduced to between eight and ten years.

The charges are currently with a judge at the Special Court for Supporters and Large Events in Rio.

Both Mr Hickey and Mr Mallon face charges of criminal organisation, ticket touting, ambush marketing, larceny, and money laundering.