Wednesday, September 06, 2006

IOC investigating Cambodia Olympic row - [Diversion of money earmarked for the OC to the Red Cross is also very unethical]

ATHENS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee is looking into claims
by Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen that his country's National Olympic Committee (NOC) has squandered funds.

The prime minister on Tuesday accused NOC members of freeloading, and vowed to divert any funds raised for the sports body to the Red Cross.

The IOC said on Wednesday it was aware of the claims and that it was looking into the matter.

"We are currently gathering information and looking into this to find out what has happened," an IOC official told Reuters.

Hun Sen said Cambodia's NOC had wasted almost $1 million from fund-raising campaigns launched by the prime minister himself.

The funding freeze is likely to lengthen the odds of athletes from the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, which is still recovering from Pol Pot's "Killing Fields" genocide, mounting the winners' podium in the international arena.

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