Three months on from his arrest in Brazil, it looks like Pat Hickey is on his way home to Ireland.
Former President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) Pat Hickey looks set to return to Ireland, having received a loan enabling him to make a bail payment and leave Brazil.
Hickey was arrested in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics in August in an investigation into alleged ticket touting and has remained in Brazil since.
Last month, a judge in Brazil ruled that Hickey could be given back his passport and return to Ireland pending the payment of a €410,000 bond.
The OCI refused to pay the bond, but the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) have stepped in to provide a temporary loan “on humanitarian grounds” so that Hickey can return home to Ireland to receive medical treatment for a heart condition.
A statement from the ANOC (via Matt Slater of the Press Association below) confirmed that the loan was “unanimously approved by ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah and all ANOC Vice-Presidents in a postal vote last month.
https://twitter.com/mjshrimper/status/804423222326390784
The terms and conditions of the loan make it clear that it must be repaid to the ANOC in full, but that all other terms and conditions surrounding the payment will remain confidential for legal reasons.
