Irishman released over Rio ticket scandal

A Brazilian court has authorised the release of Ireland's Kevin James Mallon, a director of sports hospitality company THG who was arrested on August 5 for the alleged illegal scalping of Olympic tickets.

Mallon was being held along with the former head of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) Patrick Hickey, who is still detained in a Rio prison.

Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) appeals court officials were not available to confirm the G1 story on Saturday.

Brazilian police said earlier in August they uncovered emails between Hickey and THG executives discussing tickets they planned to sell at inflated prices, which would earn them as much as 10 million reais ($A4 million) in profit.

On Friday, a source in the Rio state security services told Reuters that a Rio de Janeiro court will return the passports of three members of the OCI who will be allowed to leave Brazil.