IOC executive Patrick Hickey accused of scalping tickets in Rio

ESPN logo
Thursday, August 18, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rio de Janeiro authorities have issued an arrest warrant for an International Olympic Committee executive accused of scalping tickets for the Summer Games.

Police said Wednesday that Patrick Hickey is accused of plotting with at least six others to illegally sell tickets for the Olympics. Hickey has been part of the IOC executive board since 2012 and is president of the Olympic Council of Ireland as well as president of the European Olympic Committees.

An Irish executive was arrested last week in the same investigation and four other executives are wanted in the probe.

Agents have seized more than 1,000 tickets that were being sold for high fees and allocated to the Olympic Council of Ireland. The company suspected is British hospitality provider THG Sports, which police say was also part of an alleged ticket-scalping scheme uncovered during the 2014 World Cup.