Chess federation latest target in expanding sports funding probe

Since Croatia’s anti-corruption agency USKOK launched an investigation earlier this year into suspected corruption at the Croatian Ski Association, several sports federations have come under scrutiny over similar allegations, including fraud, embezzlement and misuse of public funds.

The Croatian Chess Federation is the latest to draw investigators’ attention, joining the national judo and volleyball bodies. The federation said Tuesday it had filed a criminal complaint against former chief executive Alojzije Janković, accusing him of defrauding the organization of about €190,000.

The Chess Federation has drawn particular attention because Finance Minister Tomislav Ćorić led the organization until recently. During his tenure, the state-run utility HEP doubled its sponsorship. HEP has donated funds to several of the federations now under scrutiny. Ćorić denies any wrongdoing.

Opposition MPs say the siphoning of public money through sports organizations is a widespread problem. Centre Party MP Marijana Puljak is calling for all federations to publish their financial data and for the creation of a database tracking donations from public funds.

“We want to see records of all extra-budgetary money that HEP, JANAF, the Croatian Lottery and other state-run companies have given to sports federations, because this is one of the biggest loopholes in the system,” Puljak said.

Most MP Marin Miletić said the leadership of many federations is politically controlled.

“The federations are their ATM machine, while families pay athletes’ expenses,” Miletić said.

Justice Minister Damir Habijan said he supports USKOK and police investigations into spending across all sports federations.

The wave of scrutiny was triggered earlier this year by the discovery that about €30 million had been siphoned from the Croatian Ski Association over more than a decade. The main suspect, former director Vedran Pavlek, remains abroad and is evading Croatian authorities.