Monaco: IAAF Council member David Okeyo of Kenya was banned from track and field for life Thursday for his role in diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars of sponsorship money from Nike for his and others’ personal use, IAAF announced.
Okeyo, who was also secretary general and a vice president of Kenya’s track federation, was found guilty of skimming off the money given to the federation by Nike from as far back as 2004. He was suspended in 2015 and the three-year case was decided at a hearing in January and February. He was also formally expelled as an IAAF Council member.
Okeyo was accused alongside two other officials, former Athletics Kenya president and former IAAF Council member Isaiah Kiplagat, and former AK treasurer Joseph Kinyua. Kiplagat died in 2016. Kinyua was also found to be involved in diverting money meant for Athletics Kenya to a ‘clearance account’ for the men’s personal use but was not bound by the IAAF ethics code at the time and escaped punishment.
Okeyo was fined $50,000, which he was ordered to pay to AK, and ordered to pay another $100,000 in legal costs. He has also been charged separately with extorting money from athletes. The IAAF hasn’t published its findings on that charge.