On Thursday, track and field’s governing body, World Athletics, revealed a major internal fraud case within the organization totalling more than €1.5 million (C$2.5 million) over several years. The scheme involved two employees and a contracted consultant, and was discovered earlier this year by the finance department during its first annual audit under new financial leadership.
Earlier this year World Athletics uncovered the systematic theft of money from the organisation by two employees and a contracted consultant.
Detailed cases have been prepared and handed over to the relevant judicial and legal authorities for criminal investigation.
Press… pic.twitter.com/GiBSqeDVHU
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) October 30, 2025
By the time of the discovery, one of the employees had already left the organization. The other employee and the consultant were still under contract; both agreements were terminated following an internal investigation, and details have been referred to the appropriate authorities for criminal investigation.
According to the report, a forensic accounting review found no evidence of additional fraudulent activity. World Athletics says it has since implemented enhanced financial controls.
“Unfortunately, corporate theft happens in organizations around the world and across all industry sectors at different levels,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said, per the announcement. “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.
Coe added that World Athletics will use the full force of the law to recover the stolen funds. “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,” he said. “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,” Coe continued. “This is uncomfortable, but it is important that we do the right thing.”
Grand Slam Track receives emergency funding to pay half of what athletes are owed
Financial scandals shaking athletics in 2025
This isn’t the first financial scandal to hit the sport this year. Following its inaugural season, Grand Slam Track (GST) was found to be in debt to the tune of US$19 million, including $11 million owed to athletes and $8 million to vendors, at the end of September. Before GST wired athletes half of the outstanding payments, several athletes were considering legal action.
Although World Athletics did not intervene in the situation, Coe had told The Guardian he supports these startups, but stressed “the athletes do need paying.”
