European Swimming Executives Reported for Alleged Financial Misconduct

LEN president and FINA vice president Paolo Barelli, former British Swimming CEO and FINA Bureau member David Sparkes, and former Hungarian Swimming president and FINA Bureau member Tamas Gyarfas have been reported to European authorities for authorizing six-figure payments to third-party companies over a period of five years, the Daily Telegraph reported Sunday.

The allegations have gone unanswered by FINA, which was made aware of them in February at the latest.

The three men in question to do not dispute that they signed documents authorizing the payments, but say the fees were legitimate – relating to “logistics services,” “commercial assistance” and “identification and assistant activity,” according to the Telegraph.

Among the alleged indiscretions is a deal that secures revenue from rights to broadcast aquatic sports on television.

According to Swimming World, Barelli, Sparkes and Gyarfas are cited as signatories to 2016 contract with insurance company Elevan in which “a percentage of broadcast-rights revenue is promised in return for securing an increase in fees. ” Elevan also reportedly received fees in 2016 and 2017 for “identification and assistance activity” related to a LEN sponsorship deal with insurer UnipolSai.

But the European Broadcasting Union – which has a massive contract with LEN – said that it “was unaware of any third-party payments,” according to the Telegraph. At least seven European swimming officials signed a petition asking for the broadcast rights matter to be investigated.

“We are very worried about the present state of affairs,” a warning included with the petition said. “Should this become public knowledge, it would have a dramatically negative effect on LEN.”

According to allegations, FINA honorary secretary Bartolo Consolo personally notified FINA president Julio Maglione about the allegations on February 28. Consolo was reportedly “dismayed” the issue was not forwarded to FINA’s Ethics Panel, which could then independently investigate it as a Code of Ethics violation.

“It is strange that they don’t act immediately when confronted by something of a big and significant financial matter with a lot of implications for the governance of the aquatics sports,” Consolo wrote, according to the Telegraph.

In a statement, LEN denied the allegations.

“LEN (Ligue Européenne de Natation) totally rejects the allegations, which have appeared in some media reports. Following various briefings and the receipt of the Audit Report, the LEN Bureau unanimously agrees that there is no substance to the allegations raised. LEN maintains that all its bodies have always respected a conduct in line with the principles of good governance and transparency.”

According to Swiss and Italian law, prosecutors can now decide whether to bring charges or ignore the submitted reports.

Gyarfas led the Hungarian Swimming Federation from 1993 to 2016, and in 2019 was charged with ordering the murder of a rival media member in 1998. Sparkes was the head of British Swimming for 23 years. Barelli is an Italian senator and was elected president of LEN in 2012 – he has also headed Italian Swimming since 2000.

Previous financial allegations were made against Barelli about missing money designated for the 2009 World Championships, but those allegations were never proven true.