The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Ethics Commission has raised significant concerns regarding governance and financial matters within the World Olympians Association (WOA), with the Treasurer (who is Bermuda's Olympian Patrick Singleton) specifically named in a letter dated May 8th 2025, seen by www.islandstats.com.
The letter, penned by IOC Ethics Commission Chairman Paquerette Girard Zappelli and addressed to all National Olympic Committees (NOC) Presidents and Secretaries General, outlines a series of "numerous serious issues" identified by the IOC regarding the WOA's governance and finances. These issues, according to the letter, were detailed in an independent compliance and audit report conducted with the approval of the WOA.
Zappelli stated that the IOC has repeatedly urged the WOA leadership – specifically naming WOA President (Joël Bouzou), Secretary General (Anthony Ledgard), Treasurer (Patrick Singleton of Bermuda), and CEO (Mike Miller) – to address these concerns in a "constructive and collaborative manner," but unfortunately, the IOC believes this has not occurred.
The IOC has subsequently taken several actions to "protect the Olympian community and the Olympic Movement at large," including freezing all IOC funding to the WOA. Furthermore, the IOC is reinforcing its intellectual property protection on Olympic-related matters, particularly concerning the WOA's activities, emphasizing that Olympic IP was licensed to the WOA under a legally binding agreement where the WOA acknowledged the IOC's ownership.
The letter also notes that WOA development officers, who were previously contracted with the WOA, are now directly contracted with the IOC and are working to support IOC-run Olympian programmes. Zappelli emphasized the IOC's continued direct support and engagement with the Olympian community through existing and enhanced programmes, with funds that would have gone to the WOA now being directly invested in these initiatives.
Interestingly, just days after the IOC's letter was disseminated, the WOA published an article on their website with the headline "Another 5 years of clean financial audits for WOA." In this article, Bermuda's Patrick Singleton is directly quoted, stating, "We have very strong controls in place. For instance, four separate signatures are needed before any payment can be made. Our highly experienced Swiss external accountant runs our accounting function. And when specific specialised tax or other advice is needed, we enlist the help of top Swiss or International legal or accounting companies.”
This public statement from the WOA Treasurer comes in direct contrast to the serious concerns raised by the IOC's Ethics Commission, setting the stage for a potentially significant governance dispute within the Olympic movement involving the organisation representing Olympians worldwide and a prominent Bermudian sports figure.
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