Former sprinter Frankie Fredericks has been provisionally suspended from athletics pending an investigation into a potential ethics violation.

The Namibian is being investigated by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) over payments he received from Papa Massata Diack, the son of ex-IAAF president Lamine Diack.

In March, French newspaper Le Monde claimed the IAAF council member received a payment days before voting on the 2016 Olympics host city.

The four-time Olympic silver medallist says the payment was legitimate and related to his role in the promoting of several athletics events.

He told told Le Monde the payment had “nothing whatsoever to do with the Olympic Games”.

Fredericks stepped down from two key administrative roles in March following the accusations.

He quit as head of the evaluation commission for the 2024 Olympics, and left a taskforce helping Russia return to international competition.

As head of the IOC evaluation commission, Fredericks was to lead an inspection visit to 2024 candidate cities Los Angeles and Paris.

In his written judgement, the chairman of the IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal, Michael J Beloff, said Fredericks’ suspension was not a presumption of guilt.

The Namibian can appeal his suspension.