Farrugia Sacco to attend London Olympics opening ceremony despite ticketing probe

Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, President of Malta's Olympic Committee who has been embroiled in the London 2012 ticketing scandal, is set to attend the opening of the Olympic Games in the British capital on July 27, despite investigations by International Olympic Committee's ethics commission.

Farrugia Sacco - who is a serving Judge - is being investigated by the Commission for the Administration of Justice following a request by Justice Minister Chris Said in response to a report published in The Sunday Times of London, where the Judge and MOC general secretary Joe Cassar were covertly recorded by two undercover reporters, posing as envoys of a Middle Eastern ticket tout, and could be heard explaining how high mark-ups for the tickets could be "camouflaged" through "subtle" marketing techniques.

Certain national Olympic committees have already been accused by the newspaper of selling tickets to third parties for resale on the black market: a practice expressly prohibited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The MOC was not one of these, but the London Sunday Times article nonetheless suggested Malta may have been willing to have its tickets sold by agents outside its borders.

At one point in the secretly filmed conversation, Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco is heard saying: "Quite frankly, we are interested just in our needs because we realise that if a person is willing to pay you that much money that person wants to make a profit. Obviously, he's doing it in order to make a mark-up and get his money back, plus a profit, so, obviously, you've got to be reasonable and not demand too much."

The judge has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said that he had spoken to the IOC following the launch of its global investigation and was assured Malta had done "nothing wrong".

It is highly unlikely any National Olympic Committee leaders embroiled in the London 2012 ticketing scandal will be dealt with before the Games - even though the IOC's ethics panel has begun its investigation.

The IOC has said that it intends to complete the ethics probe before the opening of the Games, but the process, which includes a review of the evidence from The London Sunday Times' sting operation - some 20 hours of video and transcripts - and hearings for those alleged to have broken rules, is not expected to be complete by then.

While the process is underway, IOC Ethics Commission chief Pâquerette Girard Zappelli is also still awaiting some key documents from the Sunday Times, which will drag the process out further

Anyone charged with improper conduct following the investigation would be granted a hearing before the IOC Executive Board before any sanctions could be meted out.

It means that interim sanctions previously thought possible before the Games may now not be used, allowing some of the accused NOC leaders to attend London 2012.

The IOC Executive Board has the power to suspend individuals while the ethics inquiry is underway or bar individuals from receiving credentials for the Olympics.

The Sunday Times report suggested that up to 54 NOCs might be caught up in the scandal. But only a handful may be serious enough to draw major sanctions. However, others are likely to face less serious punishments.

The newspaper report alleged that 27 Olympic officials and ticketing agents had offered to sell London Olympic tickets on the black market for as much as 10 times their face value.

Besides Malta, there also were Bosnia, China, Greece, Israel, Lithuania and Serbia among the NOCs named in the June 17 report.

Greek Olympic Committee president Spyros Capralos was quoted from a secretly recorded video boasting of his inside connection to London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe, a connection he said would help Greece secure more high-demand tickets. LOCOG issued a statement confirming there were no special ticket deals for Greece.

The Serbian and Bosnian NOCs denied any wrongdoing after the scandal broke.

The Greeks issued a statement at the time defending Capralos and said its own Olympics ticketing sales were "totally transparent and in accordance with the laws of the Greek State".