IOC, Interpol and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime publish paper on Covid-19 and tackling corruption in sport

A paper published jointly by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Interpol and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) addresses the Covid-19 pandemic and provides measures that can be taken to tackle and prevent corruption.

The paper centres around ensuring that a proactive approach with the necessary preventative measures are taken to limit corruption when sport fully resumes. Whilst sport around the world has come to a halt due to the pandemic the issues of sporting integrity and corruption in sport have not disappeared.

The paper lists policy framework and specialist recommendations which can be implemented by wide ranging bodies such as sports governing bodies, law enforcement and governments in tackling corruption. For example, there are:

• Overarching recommendations which includes avoid reducing salaries where possible as this makes individuals vulnerable targets for criminal groups who will seek to exploit this, ensure the relevant support is provided to all those involved in sport who may be targeted and raising awareness about the risks of corruption and how to prevent it.
• Specific recommendations for sport organisations where it is recommended that the relevant regulations around betting and bribery are put in place and enforced. It is also recommended that awareness raising sessions are completed for athletes.
• Specific recommendations for governments, in particular, law enforcement and criminal justice authorities such as the authorities having access to the necessary resources and sharing important information between bodies.

You can read the full paper here.