Former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack could soon leave France, but must first raise €500,000 (£435,000/$605,000).
A French court accepted a request from Diack’s legal team to lift a ban on the 87-year-old leaving the country in December.
This would enable Diack to return to his native Senegal, but a €500,000 bond must first be paid.
Last September, Diack was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of corruption, and given a further two-year suspended sentence.
Due to his age, the former leader of the IAAF – now World Athletics – has not had to serve time in prison, however.
Diack was convicted on several corruption charges linked to the Russian doping scandal, but found not guilty of “organised money laundering” by the Paris Criminal Court.
A group calling itself “Lamine Diack Collective” has set up a fundraising campaign to pay €500,000 to facilitate Diack’s exit from France.
“I don’t know the financial situation of this family,” group chair Majib Sène told Radio France International.
“My duty is to participate in any action likely to promote the release of Lamine Diack.
“And as this return is conditioned by the payment of this deposit, the family has launched an appeal for solidarity, and we subscribe to this idea.”