World Athletics victims of $1.7 million systematic corporate theft
The crime unfolded over several years and is now being investigated by police.
World Athletics has lost $1.7 million (£1.3m) to “systematic theft” which allegedly involved two of its staff and a contracted consultant.
The global governing body has handed over details of the case to “the relevant judicial and legal authorities for criminal investigation” after an audit discovered suspicious activity over several years.
World Athletics says it terminated the contracts of one employee and the consultant, whereas another employee had already left.
The Monaco-based organisation put out a press release on Thursday (Oct 30) about the theft but has not named any of the suspects.
The theft, which took place over several years, was discovered by World Athletics’ finance department during the first annual auditing process under a new financial leadership team.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe promised to use “the full force of the law” to recover as much of the money as possible.
“Too many organisations brush incidents like this under the carpet, terminating employment with limited information which allows perpetrators to continue their scams and thefts within new organisations. We are not that type of organisation."
“We have built a strong reputation for good governance, transparency and for defending what is right, even if it is sometimes a little uncomfortable. This is uncomfortable but it is important that we do the right thing.”
The governing body says it will also introduce "a set of enhanced internal financial controls" to prevent future incidents like this.
