A LIMERICK sports administrator who had his passport confiscated as part of the investigation into the Olympic ticketing scandal has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Last Sunday night Dermot Henihan, of North Circular Road, had his passport, phone and laptop seized by Brazilian police following a search of the Rio de Janeiro hotel he was staying in.
Mr Henihan, who is the General Secretary of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI), fell ill shortly after having his possessions seized. However he was well enough to report for questioning at a local police station on Tuesday as instructed.
Following that interview, Mr Henihan was informed that he was free to leave.
A long-standing member of the St. Michael’s Rowing Club in the city centre, Mr Henihan had been questioned as part of the ongoing police investigation into ticket touting within the OCI. Local police removed mobile phones and Olympics tickets from the hotel rooms of two other OCI executives, Kevin Kilty and Stephen Martin, both of whom will be interviewed by police tomorrow after requesting time to secure legal representation.
Warrants have also been issued for the seizure of passports belonging to Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief executive and OCI vice president John Delaney, acting OCI president Willie O’Brien and personal assistant Linda O’Reilly.
The case came to light last week following the dramatic arrest of former president of the OCI, Pat Hickey, who is currently being detained in a Rio prison and faces charges of facilitating ticket touting, forming a cartel and illicit marketing.
Should Mr Hickey be found guilty, he could be jailed for up to seven years.
Mr Henihan is a former president of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union and has managed seven Irish Olympic rowing and world championship squads. He was appointed to the role of General Secretary of the OCI in 2014.
