World Athletics reported on Thursday that it discovered that two employees and a contractor were responsible for $1.7 million in corporate theft that spanned several years.
According to governing body, an internal audit lead by a new group of financial analysts revealed that the funds were taken over time in what it labels as “systematic theft.”
The investigation launched earlier this year, with the focus shifting to former chief operating officer Vineesh Kochhar and former director of broadcast James Lord based on sources who spoke with The Associated Press.
“Unfortunately, corporate theft happens in organizations around the world and across all industry sectors at different levels,” World Athletics president Sebastian said in the report. “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 doesn’t happen again. This is what we have done.”
News of the report and theft was first uncovered by 3 Wire Sports as one of the suspected employees had already left World Athletics before the investigation, while the other employee and consultant had their contracts terminated.
It appears that Kochhar left the organization in December, while Lord left in July based on their social media accounts.
A report by Front Office Sports said that Lord was then employed by for Relevent Football Partners, a firm that manages the commercial rights for the Europa League. But according to Relevent Football Partners, Lord is no longer an employee and did not specify why he is not with the company.
The inquiry was apparently very detailed and the matter has since been transferred over to law enforcement for further investigation.
“We are also determined to recover whatever monies we are able using the full force of the law to do this,” Coe also said in the report. “Too many organizations brush incidents like this under the carpet, terminating employment with limited information which allows perpetrators to continue their scams and thefts within new organizations. We are not that type of organization.”
“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.”
