Nuzman stays in prison in Rio graft probe

Brazilian authorities have decided to keep in detention the chairman of Brazil's Olympic Committee, who helped organize the Rio 2016 Games, the G1 news portal reported Monday.

Carlos Nuzman, 75, submitted his resignation Saturday, saying he wanted to concentrate on defending himself against corruption charges.

Nuzman was arrested in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday as part of a probe into allegations he helped buy votes from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to secure Rio's hosting of the 2016 Games

The Games were generally lauded as a success at the time. However, the aftermath has produced a flow of corruption scandals alleging the embezzlement of millions of dollars.

Brazilian officials said last month Nuzman was the "lynchpin" in a plot to get the IOC to pick Rio. Former Rio state governor Sergio Cabral, who is serving a 14-year prison term for bribery and money laundering, allegedly masterminded the plot.

On Friday, the IOC provisionally suspended Nuzman, stripping him of his honorary membership and removing him from the coordination committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

It also suspended Brazil's Olympic Committee, although it said the country's athletes were unaffected and would be allowed to take part in next year's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang as well as continue to receive scholarship funds.