LAUSANNE (AFP) - The International Olympic Committee on Friday (Oct 6) provisionally suspended Brazil's national Olympic body over the alleged involvement of its head Carlos Nuzman in a vote-buying scandal.

The IOC also suspended Nuzman from all his positions, stripped him of his honorary membership and removed him from the coordination committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Nuzman was arrested in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday as part of a probe into allegations he helped buy votes from the IOC to secure Rio's hosting of the 2016 Games.

The IOC said that "to protect the interests of the Brazilian athletes" the decision had no bearing on the country's teams.

"Therefore, the IOC will accept a Brazilian Olympic Team in the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018," it said in a statement.