The head of Tokyo's 2020 Olympics bid team on Thursday said he knew nothing about a multimillion-dollar payment made to a Singaporean firm linked to a disgraced athletics official despite being tasked with overseeing other consulting contracts.
A day after Japan Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda announced a new probe into the legality of the 2.8 million Singaporean dollar ($2.04 million) payment to Black Tidings, Masato Mizuno, the CEO of Tokyo's bidding committee, said he had nothing to do with the company.
Mizuno said he was tasked with interviewing other consulting companies and drawing up contracts but did not know of the existence of Black Tidings nor its head Ian Tan Tong Han.