Patrick Hickey, President of both the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) and European Olympic Committees, is currently being held in prison here in connection with an alleged Rio 2016 ticketing scam.

A "non-statutory"inquiry has been convened today in Dublin by Irish Sports Minister Shane Ross, and Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan

It will be headed by Justice Carroll Moran, a former High Court judge, and is expected to reach a verdict within the next 12 weeks.

The inquiry is to establish the "policies, procedures, processes and practices relevant to the receipt, distribution and sale of tickets allocated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) as well as accreditations given by NOCs".

It will specifically consider processes for London 2012, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 but will also retain the right to look back at previous Olympics. 

The way the OCI procured and awarded contracts will also be examined, as well as the way they resold tickets via hospitality packages.

The inquiry will also look into corporate governance within the OCI, as well as state funding by the Sports Council of Ireland.

Moran is expected to have the power to call on any witnesses he wishes and has already been promised full support by the OCI.

The 71-year-old Hickey, a member of the IOC's ruling Executive Board, remains in a notorious high security prison here and is not expected to be able to apply for bail until Friday (August 26) at the earliest. 

Hickey, who has stepped-down from all his sporting roles until the matter is "fully resolved", had been appointed the IOC's special delegate for autonomy in 2014.

This meant he was responsible for preventing Government interference in NOCs and sporting bodies.

It is possible that there could then be a two to three month delay until he now faces trial due to procedural issues in the Brazilian legal system.

Police here yesterday revealed that they found emails dating back to 2010 between the Hickey and Marcus Evans, head of ticketing company THG Sports.

THG director Stephen Mallon remains in the same jail as Hickey following his arrest earlier this month and the pair are reportedly sharing a cell. 

Two other Irish officials, the team's Rio 2016 Chef de Mission Kevin Kilty and OCI chief executive Stephen Martin, an Olympic gold medallist, remain in Brazil ahead of questioning expected to take place tomorrow.

THG were the Irish authorised ticket reseller (ATR) for London 2012 and Sochi 2014 but were not selected for Rio 2016, so had no rights to sell tickets.

It is alleged by Brazilian police, however,  that Pro10 Sports Management, the Dublin-based company who were selected, were just a front operation to conceal THG's involvement.

Both THG and Pro10 Sports Management have also promised full assistance with the Irish inquiry.

THG Sports also served as ATR for Greece and Malta at London 2012.

Spyros Capralos, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, was named in a Sunday Times article shortly before London 2012 in connection with alleged ticketing scams.

Capralos, chair of the EOCs Baku 2015 Coordination Commission and who remains HOC President and an EOC Executive Committee member, told undercover reporters that he had "pulled strings" with Olympic organisers to obtain extra premium tickets which would be available outside Greece. 

The HOC admitted that THG had paid 10 times more than at Beijing 2008 for the exclusive rights to market Greece's ticket allocation for London 2012. 

But they claimed that €300,000 (£241,000/$377,000) had been spent on preparing Greece's athletes for the Games in the face of an unprecedented economic crisis. 

Capralos criticised the reports as untrue and "misleading", although the IOC Ethics Commission claimed he had caused "damage to the reputation of the Olympic Movement".

Former Maltese Olympic Committee President Lino Farrugia Sacco was also found guilty in 2014 of "gross negligence" by the Maltese Ministry of Justice in connection with the same Sunday Times report.

He has always denied any wrongdoing and remains head of the EOC Audit Commission.

The EOC is currently being led on a temporary basis by the organisation's vice-president Janez Kocijančič of Slovenia.

According to the Slovenian Press Agency, tickets intended for the Slovenian Olympic Committee (OKS) have been among those the police have confiscated in their investigation into the ticket scam.

The OKS claim to have no idea how this happened.

It is possible a European Union law in which European Union citizens can buy tickets in any member nation could be the explanation.

An article on the EOC website today entitled "Rio 2016's Greatest Moments" refers to the ticketing problems.

After hailing seven highlights of the Olympic Games which closed here on Sunday (August 21), it refers to a "few hiccups", including "doping scandal and tickets case, the lie of the American swimmer, tensions on the mat, many volunteers disappearing along the way and little attendance in the stadiums".