[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18161743

A senior Olympic official has been suspended after a BBC investigation showed he was willing to sell 2012 tickets for cash.

Volodymyr Gerashchenko, of Ukraine's National Olympic Committee (NOC), told a reporter posing as a UK tout he would have up to 100 tickets to sell.

It is a criminal offence, punishable by fines of up to £20,000, to sell London 2012 tickets to touts.

After receiving information that someone from Ukraine's national Olympic committee might be prepared to sell tickets, a BBC reporter posing as an unauthorised ticket dealer from the UK spoke to Mr Gerashchenko who confirmed he would be prepared to sell tickets.

Mr Gerashchenko, who has been general secretary of his national Olympic committee since 1997, told an undercover reporter: "I understand you're a dealer - that's why for me, you are priority number one, the top, the person, in case we have extra tickets to contact you, we contact you."

During a subsequent meeting at a hotel near the Olympic Park in east London, Mr Gerashchenko explained he was in the process of distributing tickets to Ukrainian fans, coaches and officials.

However, once this process had finished, he would be prepared to sell up to 100 spare tickets.

Asked by the undercover journalist if payment could be made by bank transfer he replied: "I think it is when it comes, better cash. Possible?

"Better cash and finished with it. I hope to arrive 10 July."

Jeremy Summers, an expert in sports law who provided legal counsel at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, told BBC London the latest revelations were particularly embarrassing for the IOC.

"The IOC tried to sharpen its act for itself and the various other Olympic committees, following the scandals of the late 1990s (namely, allegations of bribery to win the right to host the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City).

"We've given a higher allocation of tickets to the NOCs than we've ever done before. It looks like it stinks. It's something you shouldn't be seeing happening."

So Gerashchenko may win this Olympics Gold Medal for Corruption .....