GENEVA — Olympic authorities said on Wednesday that they were seeking clarification from Monaco after an American, who claims to have been an employee of Prince Albert II, alleged breaches of the IOC's ethics code.
In a letter to the International Olympic Committee that was published online, Robert Eringer's lawyer said there was evidence that Albert, an IOC member, had received gifts from Russia's then president Vladimir Putin before and after the vote to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The IOC voted in 2007 to award the event to Russian city of Sochi.
"Yes we have received the letter," IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau told AFP.
"We are currently seeking clarification from Monaco on this," she added.
Eringer, who has alleged that he ran a service called the "Monaco Intelligence Service" from 2002 to 2007, and Monaco's royal palace have been locked in legal action against each other for months.
He has sued Monaco in the United States for wrongful dismissal.
In November 2009, the principality denied Eringer's assertions in bulk and sought judicial proceedings in the United States accusing him of "numerous untrue and defamatory claims" against Albert.
In the letter posted on Eringer's website, his attorney, Brigham Ricks, wrote to IOC President Jacques Rogge listing gifts or favours he said Albert had received from Russia.
Ricks claimed they "demonstrate Prince Albert's bold and egregious violations of the IOC's code of ethics and rules conflict of interest."
The Russian Black Sea resort won the right to host the Winter Games during an IOC congress in Guatemala City in July 2007, beating South Korean candidate Pyeongchang by 51 votes to 47.
Eringer's lawyer claimed Prince Albert had voted for Sochi, but this could not immediately be confirmed.
The IOC said earlier that it would refrain from further comment about the allegations because of the ongoing litigation between Eringer and Monaco's royal palace.
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