FRENCH magistrates have filed new, tougher corruption charges against former IAAF president Lamine Diack in connection with cover-ups of Russian doping.

    Diack had previously been accused of “passive corruption,” on suspicion he took around 1 million euros (US$1.1 million) to cover up positive drug tests by Russian athletes.

    An official with the Paris financial prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that Diack is now accused of “active corruption,” which generally involves offering money or other promises in exchange for violating a rule.

    The anonymous official said the new charges center on suspicions that Diack bribed Gabriel Dolle, the IAAF’s former anti-doping chief, to delay reporting of violations by Russian athletes. The preliminary charges allow magistrates more time to investigate before deciding whether to file formal charges and whether to send a case to trial. Diack is free on bail pending further probe.

    Russia’s track and field federation was suspended by the IAAF after a World Anti-Doping Agency independent commission found evidence of systemic doping and cover-ups.

    A report in Le Monde on Monday alleged that another senior IAAF official, Nick Davies, tried to delay public identification of alleged Russian drug cheats ahead of the 2013 world championships in Moscow.

    (SD-Agencies)