19/10/2017
NEWS STORY
Having called in consultants Deloitte to complete an analysis of its activities in order to safeguard it against the threat of bribery and corruption and guarantee legal compliance, the FIA was advised to follow the example of FIFA (in 2013) and the International Olympic Committee (2015) and put in place a whistleblowing system. However, it has yet to do so.
According to the Independent, "Deloitte made a number of recommendations including 'the creation of a Compliance Officer, the implementation of a whistleblowing system, the strengthening of the monitoring of the use of grants awarded by the FIA, the improvement in the monitoring of the independence of certain FIA bodies and of the absence of conflicts of interest'.
While some regulations were amended late last year following Deloitte's report, a number are still outstanding.
"The FIA is in the process of implementing the recommendations of Deloitte," says a spokesperson. "The FIA will continue to lead the way in ensuring compliance as it strives to put in place best practices.
"This includes implementing recommendations made by Deloitte following its compliance analysis that was carried out in 2016, at the request of the FIA, to assist it in reaching its compliance goals. This also included the appointment of a new compliance officer to lead oversight and who has recently joined the FIA."
Deloitte had warned that "the threat of corruption was diminished, but noted that residual risks remain", a warning that takes on greater significance when one considers that the Serious Fraud Office in Britain and France's Parquet National Financier are looking into the FIA's alleged conflict of interest in the sale of F1 to Liberty Media, not to mention the referral to the Treasury to investigate whether it broke sanctions by giving grants to its member clubs in Syria Zimbabwe, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda and Iran.
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