Swiss Police Seize Documents In Raid On LEN Offices

Cristha Thiel (L) Paolo Barelli LEN President David Sparkes LEN Flag Hand Over Diving Women 3m Springboard Final 32nd LEN European Championships Berlin, Germany 2014 Aug.13 th - Aug. 24 th Day12 - Aug. 24 Photo G. Scala/Deepbluemedia/Inside

Picture Courtesy: LEN

The offices of the European Swimming League (LEN) have been raided by Swiss police in relation to allegations of financial irregularity. Officers from the police in the Swiss canton of Vaud asked for specific documents which were handed over and searched some computer files before leaving.

A LEN spokesman said:

“LEN has expected the authorities requesting information and documents earlier as it is part of the normal procedure.

“LEN’s legal team wishes to have the case processed as fast as possible in order to initiate legal actions to those who committed the real wrongdoing against LEN by making false accusations.”

It comes after revelations last May that three world swimming bosses had been named in a complaint alleging financial irregularity.

The trio were Paolo Barelli, the president of LEN, and a vice-president of FINA, David Sparkes, the former head of British Swimming, and Tamas Gyarfas, the former head of the Hungarian swimming federation, both LEN executives and members of the FINA Bureau.

After months of dispute within the federation, files had been submitted to prosecutors in Switzerland and Italy as well as two sports ethics panels.

It all started when former LEN president Bartolo Consolo received an anonymous letter in late 2019 containing allegations of financial irregularity.

He attended a meeting with Fraud and Money Laundering Department investigators of the Swiss Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton Vaud, at police headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, in early August 2020.

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