Qatar’s new PM granted bribes to monopolize broadcasting rights, organize tournaments

Mustafa Kamel

The corruption cases that Doha has been involved in during recent years have dominated the scene again after Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani assumed the post of prime minister on January 27 during his time at the Ministry of Interior, as he was involved in many of these corruption cases. Among them was Qatar’s state monopoly on many sports broadcasting rights in the Middle East and North Africa region, unlawfully in favor of Doha, after transferring huge sums of money estimated in the millions when the new prime minister was heading the Emiri Diwan, which he took over on November 11, 2014. He was involved in sports corruption cases, including buying the broadcasting rights of the World Athletics Championships in exchange for granting Doha the bid to organize the championship, according to the Guardian.

Sports corruption

In June 2019, the Guardian and the French website Mediapart revealed a new card in the file of corruption, condemning Doha of corruption in its bid to organize the 2017 World Athletics Championships, which was ultimately granted to London.

Meanwhile, the French newspaper Le Monde confirmed in November 2016 that a former official of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) received two payments totaling approximately $3.5 million from Qatari investors prior to the vote to host the championship in 2017.

Financial bribes

E-mails uncovered by the Guardian revealed the existence of communication between Qatar’s new prime minister, while he was head of the Emiri Diwan, and Papa Massata Diack, the son of IAAF President Lamine Diack. Massata Diack wrote to Sheikh Khalid, whom he thanked “for your hospitality and diligence during my stay in Doha,” before adding, “You will find attached the bank details for the transfer of $4.5 million which must be done as agreed.”

“The balance of 440,000 must remain in Doha in cash, I will pick it up the next time I come,” he continued, stressing the urgency of the need to send the payment so that he could finalize the affairs with his father, who was the head of the IAAF at the time.

Following the correspondence, Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (Oryx QSI), which is owned by Paris Saint-Germain President Nasser Al-Khelaifi and his brother Khalid, transferred $3.5 million to a company account in Senegal owned by Massata Diak just eight days after the e-mail was sent. BeIN Media greatly benefited from obtaining broadcasting rights and licenses due to Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s association with the company.

During his appearance before the French judiciary to investigate the transfer, Nasser Al-Khelaifi confirmed that he did not interfere in the details of Qatar hosting the championships, but the Mediapart investigation revealed that he was a member of a secret committee headed by the Emir of Qatar when he was crown prince, aiming to host the 2020 Olympics. The documents confirmed Al-Khelaifi’s participation in Qatar’s campaign to try to win the rights of the 2017 World Athletics Championships, in addition to the 2020 Olympic Games, while the investigation showed that the e-mail account was created under a pseudonym but that the user was Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani.