Brazilian police have announced that they have issued an arrest warrant for Town owner Marcus Evans and three other directors of his THG Sports company as part of their ongoing investigation into alleged ticket touting at the Rio Olympics.
As previously reported, Brazilian police seized around 1,000 tickets - bearing the name of the Olympic Council of Ireland - and detained Kevin James Mallon, a director of THG, and a translator, Barbara Carnieri, for offences relating to the selling of tickets significantly above their face value.
Earlier today police told a press conference that they had issued warrants for the arrest of Evans, 52, Martin Studd, 49, Dutchman Maarten van Os, 45, and Irishman David Patrick Gilmore, 35.
The offences they are accused of committing are facilitating touting, conspiracy and illegal marketing, all of which carry prison sentences.
THG say they are "extremely concerned by these charges" and in a statement continued to deny any wrongdoing: "We have made absolutely clear that the allegations made against our colleague, Kevin Mallon, and ourselves are entirely without foundation.
"Pro 10, the Irish Authorised Ticket Reseller (ATR), have also made it absolutely clear that the tickets held by Kevin were on behalf of the Irish ATR and were held for collection by Pro 10 clients in Rio.
"Having tickets on the ground for collection is standard practice for an ATR during games time.
"Our Brazilian lawyers have advised us that there is no evidence to support these allegations, as indeed there is not, and we shall be vigorously defending all charges that have been brought.
"It appears that ROCOG [Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games] and the local authorities have an agenda to impede the legitimate activities of THG in order to support the activities of their locally approved hospitality provider.”
But Ricardo Barbosa of the Delegacia de Defraudações e Falsificações [Department of Fraud and Falsification] said statements from Brazilian witnesses contradicted THG’s claim that Mallon was merely distributing tickets for Pro 10.
He says the witnesses have alleged that they bought hospitality packages - including tickets - directly from THG, who are no longer an ATR, having previously fulfilled that role for the Olympic Council of Ireland at London 2012 and at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
According to Barbosa, one witness says THG promised a reception at Rio’s Copacabana Palace hotel and a lecture from a former Olympian but instead were offered a reception at the less prestigious Next Flat hotel.
"The hospitality was far less than what these customers were led to expect and we believe it was used as camouflage to justify overcharging for tickets,” Barbosa said, according to the Irish Times.
Current Olympic Council of Ireland ATR, Pro 10, is only permitted to sell tickets to Irish and European customers, while the sale of tickets above face value is a criminal offence in Brazil.
Ronaldo Oliveira, of Rio’s civil police, said the quartet would be arrested should they seek to enter Brazil and that it is up to the justice systems in their countries of residence to decide whether they should be extradited.