| 17.11.200911:35 (GMT) | Russian historian Yuri Felshtinsky and former KGB Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Popov claim in a new book, The KGB Plays Chess, that former IOC President, Juan Antonio Samaranch, was hired by the KGB in the late 1970s, Danish website Play the Game reports.
Samaranch was sent to Moscow in 1977; he served as Spain’s ambassador in the Soviet Union and Mongolia. At this time, Samaranch was IOC Vice President and head of Olympic protocol.
Already in his book The Corporation: Russia and the KGB in the Age of President Putin, published in late 2008, Felshtinsky told the story about Samaranch’s recruitment. Samaranch grew fond of Russian antiques, which he collected and shipped to his home in Spain. All antiques were closely monitored by the KGB; so the Spanish ambassador, a frequent buyer of valuable rarities, was taken note of. An agent from the KGB’s Second Main Directorate, which monitored the Spanish embassy, met with Samaranch and gently explained to him that his actions were subject to prosecution in accordance with the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code and were classified by Soviet law as the smuggling of contraband goods. According to Felshtinsky, Samaranch was offered a choice: he could either be compromised through the Soviet and foreign press detailing his activities, which would undoubtedly have put an end to his diplomatic career, or he could collaborate with the KGB as a secret agent. Samaranch chose the latter option, the author marks. It is claimed that the KGB promised to help Samaranch becoming IOC President. It is documented that Viktor Chebrikov, then KGB vice-head who become later KGB’s chairman, has written encrypted information to his counterparts in the Eastern Bloc to support Samaranch in any way to get the required votes.
Felshtinsky labels also other high ranking Olympic agents in the new book.
| |
| |
|
