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Ukraine official quits after Olympic 2012 ticket offer | |
(40 minutes later) | |
A senior Ukrainian Olympic official has resigned after being filmed by the BBC offering London 2012 tickets for cash. | |
Volodymyr Gerashchenko, of Ukraine's National Olympic Committee, 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. | It is a criminal offence, punishable by fines of up to £20,000, to sell London 2012 tickets to touts. |
Mr Gerashchenko was filmed telling the BBC London reporter: "You are priority number one." | |
A senior adviser to the President of Ukraine's National Olympic committee, Sergiy Bubka, confirmed Mr Gerashchenko had submitted his resignation. | |
He told BBC London: "He has resigned. It will not be appropriate for me in light of the investigation to comment any further." | |
'Extra tickets' | |
The official had initially been suspended after the revelations. | |
Acting on a tip-off, the undercover reporter posed as an unauthorised ticket dealer from the UK. | |
He spoke to Mr Gerashchenko who confirmed he would be prepared to sell tickets. | |
Mr Gerashchenko, who had been general secretary of his national Olympic committee since 1997, was recorded saying: "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, he told the reporter. | |
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." | |
Following the expose, London 2012 bosses said they took the claims "very seriously". |
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