The Olympics

The Olympics

Text

News, information and stories about the Olympics.

Friday, July 30, 2004

Bribery and Corruption, In The Olympics; Surely Not?

The BBC's Panorama programme, due to be shown in the UK this Sunday, has put the "cat among the pigeons" in respect of the integrity and honesty of the Olympic Games.



It is reported to allege that a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was willing to take a bribe, from an undercover reporter, to help London host the 2012 Olympics.



Bribery and corruption, in sport?; surely not!



The IOC have started an internal investigation into the allegations. As an old hand at fraud and audit investigations (see my resume), unless the investigation is carried out by an independent third party; it will not be worth the paper it is printed on.



The IOC president Jacques Rogge has made the right PR noises, by saying that he takes the allegations very seriously etc etc.



It is reported that the BBC have stated that Olympic insiders have said that they have taken kickbacks, paid by previous bidding cities, and that they have been approached in respect of the 2012 Games.



Apart from the lack of infrastructure in London, which in my view pretty well kills the bid anyway, this story should finish off London's chances for good.



No comments:

Post a Comment