World Athletics has revealed that it was the victim of a large-scale in-house scam totalling more than €1.5 million ($1.7M), allegedly carried out over several years by two employees and a contracted consultant, with the files now subject to a criminal investigation.
The global governing body of track and field, chaired by British double Olympic champion Sebastian Coe, confirmed findings first reported by the 3Wire Sports website on Thursday. According to the website, the individuals involved misappropriated funds through falsified or altered expense reports.
Per World Athletics, one of the employees had already left the organisation when the irregularities came to light, while the other employee and the external consultant were dismissed following an internal investigation. Detailed files have been submitted to the relevant judicial and legal authorities for criminal investigation.
World Athletics stated that the embezzlement was uncovered by its finance department during the first annual audit conducted by the new financial management team. The review revealed the systematic theft of funds over several years.
Following this discovery, the federation commissioned an independent forensic audit to complement the internal investigation. According to the statement released on Thursday, the external review found no evidence of further fraudulent activity.
As part of its response, World Athletics announced that it would be introducing enhanced internal financial controls across the organisation from 2025 onwards to prevent any recurrence of such misconduct.
“Unfortunately, corporate theft happens in organisations around the world and across all sectors,” said Coe. “The most important thing is to identify it, understand how it happened and implement stronger processes and controls to ensure it doesn’t happen again. That’s exactly what we have done.”
Coe stressed that the federation is determined to recover the stolen funds “using the full weight of the law.”
“Too many organisations cover up incidents like this, quietly dismissing employees with minimal publicity, which allows offenders to commit fraud and theft elsewhere. We are not that kind of organisation,” he declared.
The World Athletics president also emphasised the institution’s commitment to transparency and integrity.
“We have built a strong reputation for good governance, openness, and doing what is right, even when it is uncomfortable. This is uncomfortable, but it is important that we do the right thing.”
In its statement, World Athletics reiterated that it had cooperated fully with the authorities and would continue to assist in the ongoing legal process.
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