Lawyers for Patrick Hickey claim he will not have to return to Brazil to give evidence on allegations of ticket touting, money laundering and tax evasion ©Getty Images

Patrick Hickey will not have to return to Brazil to face charges of ticket touting, money laundering and tax evasion even if he is put on trial, it has been claimed.

The former President of the Olympic Council of Ireland will be able to give evidence via Skype or a sworn deposition, his lawyer has revealed.

Hickey’s Dublin-based solicitors, Giles J Kennedy & Co, claimed they had been told Brazilian courts can allow overseas defendants to participate in a trial from outside the jurisdiction.

"It is likely he will not be required to attend in Brazil for the trial [because] it can be conducted in his absence by one of two means," Kennedy told The Sunday Times.

"It can be done either on Skype, the preferred form in the Brazilian judicial system, or it can be done by what they call sworn interrogatories where you are asked questions and give sworn answers...a type of sworn deposition."

Hickey was arrested during the Olympic Games on August 17 and is currently at home in Ireland waiting to find out whether he will ever stand trial. 

Then Olympic Council of Ireland President Patrick Hickey was arrested by police in Rio de Janeiro more than a year ago but there is still no update on whether he will face trial in Brazil or not ©ITG
Then Olympic Council of Ireland President Patrick Hickey was arrested by police in Rio de Janeiro more than a year ago but there is still no update on whether he will face trial in Brazil or not ©ITG

He is self-suspended as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and President of the European Olympic Committees.

A report published by Justice Cearbhall Moran in Ireland earlier this month cleared Hickey of any criminal wrongdoing.

The 226-page document alleged, however, that there was a "failure by so many principal participants" to cooperate with the inquiry, including Hickey, the IOC and Rio 2016.

Hickey claimed that he was told not to help with the investigation pending the outcome of Brazilian proceedings against him and that the Moran Report contained "significant inaccuracies".

There remains serious doubts over whether Hickey will ever face trial in Brazil.

In a case similar to Hickey's, Britain's Ray Whelan, a director of Match Hospitality, was arrested during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil on charges of illegally selling tickets.

A Brazilian court later dropped the charges after admitting police had acted "in haste".