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A Rio court on Monday ordered the release of the 71-year-old,
who was also the head of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI),
but said he must remain in Brazil and had his passport taken
away.
Hickey had been held in Rio's Bangu 10 maximum security prison
since his arrest on Aug. 10 in a luxury beachfront hotel during
the Games.
"I will now stay in Rio and my lawyers will proceed to have the
charges laid against me set aside as there is no substantive
proof of any wrong doing on my part," Hickey said in a
statement.
The ticketing scheme, according to Rio police, allegedly
involved the funnelling of Olympic tickets intended for use by
the Irish committee and not authorized for resale to THG Sports,
an international sports hospitality company.
Hickey has stepped aside from his Olympic positions during the
investigation.
On Saturday, a court authorized the release of Kevin James
Mallon, another Irishman and THG director, who was arrested days
before Hickey and was being held in the same prison. He left
custody late on Saturday but is also not allowed to leave
Brazil, his lawyer told Reuters.
Police have said they have ample evidence of crimes committed by
both men and other suspects in the case, but a full
investigation and further court proceedings to determine their
guilt or innocence could take months.
(Reporting by Ricardo de Moraes in Rio and Padraic Halpin in
Dublin; Writing by Daniel Flynn)
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