Ex-Ferrari boss Todt denies Malaysia payment

PARIS, June 27, 2009 (AFP) - Former Formula One Ferrari boss Jean Todt has denied receiving a payment of nearly 300,000 dollars from the Malaysian government to help promote tourism in the Asian country.

PARIS, June 27, 2009 (AFP) - Former Formula One Ferrari boss Jean Todt has denied receiving a payment of nearly 300,000 dollars from the Malaysian government to help promote tourism in the Asian country.

(AFP files) Ferrari's team director Jean Todt smiles after Michael Schumacher won the race at the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix in Sepang on March 21, 2004
(AFP files) Ferrari's team director Jean Todt smiles after Michael Schumacher won the race at the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix in Sepang on March 21, 2004

"Some media sources have relayed that Jean Todt has allegedly received payment from the government of Malaysia for his role as tourism ambassador for the country," Todt's lawyer Jean-Pierre Martel said in a written statement.

"Jean Todt formally refutes these libellous and untrue allegations, which are pure invention.

"Jean Todt wishes to highlight that his role as tourism ambassador, that he accepted at the request of the government of Malaysia, is strictly voluntary. Jean Todt has not and will not receive any payment due to his role.

The denial followed a demand from Malaysian opposition parties that the government in Kuala Lumpur scrap a decision to allocate one million ringgit (283,000 dollars) for Todt, who was made an ambassador last month for two years to promote Malaysia's tourism in the face of falling visitor numbers.

It was not immediately clear whether the amount was the annual budget or to be spent over the Frenchman's two-year appointment.

The 63-year-old Todt, who is engaged to glamorous Malaysia-born action star and former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh, was reportedly picked by Malaysian tourism authorities for "his international presence and connections".

His lawyer Martel in the written statement said that Todt had accepted the tourism role because of his "very strong personal and private connections he has developed with Malaysia, from where it is known that his live-in partner originates."

"Jean Todt is happy to support the development of tourism in the country on a voluntary basis, carrying out selected tasks which only occupy a very minimal part of his time," he added.

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