August 5, 2004
The battle to host the 2012 Olympic Games has been hit by a "votes for sale" corruption scandal.
A BBC Panorama documentary found "agents" claiming to be able to secure official votes in exchange for large sums of money.
The International Olympics Committee is investigating the claims.
The documentary said the "agents" offered the deal for between £55,000 and £165,000.
The money would allegedly secure votes from some of the 124 voting members of the IOC.
Undercover reporters for the BBC posed as consultants acting for clients with business interests in east London, who wanted the capital to host the Games.
Their investigations took them to Serbia, Hungary and Egypt, where they said the agents claimed they could secure votes - for the right price.
That price ranges from £55,000 per vote in Egypt to £165,000 each in Serbia, sometimes with agents' fees on top.
The documentary also claimed to have been shown files which it was told contained the IOC's conclusions on each city's bid weeks before the official shortlist was announced.
London has been shortlisted for the Games, but the programme makers said there is no suggestion of impropriety in its bid.
The other shortlisted cities for the 2012 Games are Paris, New York, Madrid and Moscow.
The winner will be announced next July.
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13179016,00.html