Pat Hickey’s delight at being freed to return home will be tempered by the refusal yesterday of the Olympic Council of Ireland to pay the €410,000 bond required by the Brazilian courts.
Hickey will now have to seek funds personally or rely upon the International olympic Committee to come to his aid.
The money is like any nail bona, simply a guarantee that he will return to face the court should that need arise.
If or when he does return the money would be paid back to the guarantor. Similarly if the case was to be dropped in advance of any court date the money would also be returned.
The OCI have covered Mr Hickeys legal costs up to this point on the proviso that if he were to be found guilty that they would seek repayment of those from his own personal finances.
The payment of the bond could be technically seen as being within this same framework of a legal cost, and one of the cheaper elements so long as they were certain that he would return to face charges.
There is no formal extradition treaty between Brazil and Ireland though a bilateral agreement between the two countries was negotiated which will lead to the imminent return of fugitive solicitor Michael Lynn.
Lynn fled Ireland after failing to appear at a High Court hearing in 2007. He was later arrested near Recife in Brazil on foot of an Interpol warrant.
The Brazilian Courts ruled that he should be extradited in December 2014 but delays and appeals have meant it has not yet happened.
This might of course only be relevant in the case of Mr Hickey refusing to travel back to Brazil after his medical treatment. He has stated throughout that he wishes to fight to clear his name.
It is not yet clear whether he would have the personal resources to meet the bail demand, whether the money could be raised through financing of family properties or whether indeed there was a white knight willing to ride to the rescue.
Resuming Roles?
Hickey ‘temporarily’ stepped aside as President of the Olympic Council following his arrest. It is not yet clear whether this will remain the case or whether he will seek to resume his duties and attend the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Olympic Council which has been notified for January.
The completion and publication of a Grant Thornton Report into ticketing arrangements, which was to form a key part of the Government’s enquiry into matters surrounding the Olympic Council was suspended on foot of a threat of an injunction by Hickey on grounds that it would influence court proceedings in Brazil.
That Inquiry, headed by Justice Moran is currently seeking submissions from members of the public or families of competitors around issues they might have had with tickets for Rio. The closing date for submissions is November 30th.
Read more the suspension of the Grant Thornton Report
Another report by Deloitte into governance of the OCI proved a damning indictment of the practices that have held sway in recent years and recommended sweeping changes including limiting the tenure of office of Members.
Hickey’s return will be greeted with relief on humanitarian grounds. He has been harshly treated in terms of legal process that we would see as normal here, and as a 71 year old citizen of Ireland.
That will be tempered by nervousness among some within Irish sport who may be less willing or open to seek changes in the way the OCI is managed and run if he is sitting in at the EGM as would appear likely.
Mounting Bills
The Olympic Council informed members last month that the bill to date on reports around the crisis that followed Hickey’s arrest is currently at €750,000. This was laid firmly at the foot of the three person Crisis Sub Committee in an open exposure of a group that appears very divided.
The International Olympic Committee, the European Olympic Committee and the Association of National Olympic Committee’s have all very belatedly, expressed support for Hickey in the past few weeks.
Read more about the leaking of the Deloitte report and reputation damage in a wider context
