Archive · 31 Oct 2025
World Athletics Uncovers €1.5 Million Theft by Two Employees and Consultant
Imagine a big sports organization called World Athletics.
Recently, they found out that some people working for them, two employees and someone who was hired as a consultant, stole a lot of money.
They took over one and a half million Euros over a few years.
The organization's own finance team found the theft when they were checking the books for the year.
One of the people involved had already left before the theft was found.
The other employee and the consultant lost their jobs after an investigation.
World Athletics has now told the police and courts about it, so they can investigate further and try to get the money back.
The leader of World Athletics said that even though it's bad, it's important to find this kind of theft, learn how it happened, and make sure it doesn't happen again by making their financial rules stronger.
World Athletics has uncovered a theft of over €1.5 million by two employees and a consultant.
The theft occurred systematically over several years and was discovered earlier this year during an audit.
One employee left before the theft was discovered, while another employee and the consultant had their contracts terminated.
World Athletics has handed over detailed cases to judicial and legal authorities for criminal investigation.
The organization is implementing enhanced internal financial controls and aims to recover the stolen funds.
- Who
- Two employees and a contracted consultant of World Athletics
- What
- Systematic theft of money totaling over €1.5 million
- When
- Over a period of several years, discovered earlier this year
- Where
- World Athletics organization
- Why
- Not explicitly stated, but described as corporate theft
World Athletics' Response
General Approach to Corporate Theft
Transparency and Legal Action
World Athletics' Response
World Athletics is proactively disclosing the theft, conducting thorough internal and external investigations, and pursuing legal action to recover funds, aiming to prevent perpetrators from continuing their actions elsewhere.
General Approach to Corporate Theft
Some organizations tend to 'brush incidents like this under the carpet', terminating employment with minimal information, which allows perpetrators to move to new organizations and continue their illicit activities.
Internal Controls
World Athletics' Response
Following the discovery, World Athletics is introducing enhanced internal financial controls and reviewing its processes to prevent future occurrences.
General Approach to Corporate Theft
The implication is that existing controls were insufficient, allowing the theft to happen over several years.
- Organization
- World Athletics
- Amount Stolen
- €1.5 million
- Perpetrators
- Two employees and a contracted consultant
- Discovery
- Earlier this year during annual auditing
- Investigation Status
- Cases handed over to judicial and legal authorities
- Potential Suspect Identified
- Vineesh Kochhar (CFO)