Federal government receives back misappropriated Covid aid in sport
Published: Wednesday, Jun 19th 2024, 11:40
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During the coronavirus pandemic, clubs in the Swiss Football League misappropriated federal aid funds for professional operations. Other sports clubs also did not follow the rules. Swiss Olympic and the Confederation agreed on CHF 4.5 million in repayments.
In total, the misappropriated funds from the "2021 stabilization package" amounted to CHF 4.9 million. 1.9 million francs were invested by top league football clubs in professional operations. 3 million francs were used by non-professional organizations for non-dedicated purposes.
The umbrella organization Swiss Olympic and the Federal Office of Sport (Baspo) have now agreed on a repayment of CHF 4.5 million by the association, as the Federal Office announced on Wednesday. They have informed the Federal Council of this "pragmatic solution", according to Baspo and Swiss Olympic. Originally, the Baspo had demanded the full amount back.
The misappropriation of funds came to light in an external investigation by Swiss OIympic, which was commissioned by Baspo. According to Baspo, the reimbursement includes all professional football funds that were not used for their intended purpose.
In reducing the remaining claim, the Baspo took into account the circumstances of the pandemic and the complicated legal situation. Added to this was the fact that no fraudulent intentions could be established.
The federal government supported sport during the pandemic with several aid packages totaling CHF 500 million. As the Baspo wrote, the amount reclaimed by Swiss OIympic makes up one percent of this sum. The "2021 stabilization package" amounted to CHF 100 million.
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