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world athletics says it has been the victim of corporate theft of more than €1.5m (£1.3m) perpetrated by former employees.
Athletics’ governing body said on Thursday that two employees and a contracted consultant stole €1.5m over a period of several years, with the theft eventually discovered during the first annual audit under its new financial leadership.
The finding prompted an internal investigation and referral to “relevant judicial and legal authorities” for criminal investigation.
One employee left World Athletics before the theft was discovered, while another employee and contractor were dismissed after the matter came to light.
The statement said: “World Athletics commissioned an independent forensic accounting review of this period to complement its internal investigation and no other fraudulent activity was found.
“A set of enhanced internal financial controls is being introduced into the organization.”
World Athletics President sebastian coe It was quoted as saying: “Unfortunately, corporate theft occurs at different levels in organizations around the world and in all industry sectors. The most important thing is to identify it, review how it was able to happen and then introduce new processes and enhanced controls to ensure it never happens again. That’s what we’ve done.”
“We are also committed to recovering whatever money we are able to recover, using the full force of the law to do so. Too many organizations sweep incidents like this under the carpet, ending employment with limited information which allows criminals 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 defending what is right, even if it is sometimes a little inconvenient. It is uncomfortable but it is important that we do the right thing.”