World Athletics has revealed it was the victim of a long-running internal theft totalling more than €1.5 million (Ksh 224.1 million, based on the current exchange rate in Kenya).
The global governing body for athletics said it uncovered the fraud earlier this year through an internal audit.
In a statement seen by News Nine, World Athletics confirmed that two employees and a contracted consultant were involved in systematically stealing funds over several years.
The statement indicated that one of the employees had already left before the fraud was detected, while the remaining employee and the consultant had their contracts terminated following an internal investigation.
The organisation handed over detailed evidence of the fraud to judicial and legal authorities to initiate criminal proceedings.
“The financial irregularities came to light during the first annual audit conducted under a new financial leadership team. Upon discovery, World Athletics commissioned an independent forensic accounting review to verify the extent of the losses and ensure no other fraudulent activities had occurred.
“The review confirmed that the theft was limited to the identified individuals,” the statement released on Thursday, October 30, read in part.
The organisation implemented a series of enhanced financial controls to tighten oversight and prevent future breaches.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the incident, while deeply disappointing, highlighted the importance of strong governance and transparency.
“Unfortunately, corporate theft occurs in organisations worldwide and across all industry sectors at various levels.
“The most important thing is to identify it, review how it happened, and then introduce new processes and enhanced controls to ensure it does not happen again. This is what we have done,” said Coe.
Coe emphasised that the organisation would pursue all legal avenues to recover the stolen money.
“Too many organisations conceal incidents like this. We are not that type of organisation. We have built a strong reputation for good governance and transparency – even when it is uncomfortable,” he added.
He noted that the athletics body remains committed to upholding integrity within its operations and ensuring full accountability as investigations continue.
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