The Japanese Olympic Committee has asked the Japan Wrestling Federation to conduct internal probes amid suspicion that the sports organization did not report misappropriated spending of government-issued subsidies, according to sources.
The JWF is suspected of misusing subsidies that were provided for sports organizations to hire so-called "designated coaches," whose compensations were partially covered by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
The JWF is likely to submit a report on the matter to the JOC by the end of this month.
In April, a former designated coach in the JWF reported the matter to the JOC.
According to the sources, through 2012, the JWF had made designated coaches donate parts of their compensation and managed the donation money in an account separate from its regular account.
The JWF had collected a sum exceeding 10 million yen through the donation, and the money was spent for purposes such as party expenses during overseas trips and the purchasing of mementos for Olympic squads.
In 2012, funneling the coaches' compensation to sports organizations was not clearly prohibited. But in that year, the Board of Audit pointed out the problems in 12 of the governing bodies, saying that designated coaches and other staff members did not receive [compensations] in the end, and thus, the expenditures could not be recognized as business expenses.
It developed into a situation that saw the sports ministry order the JOC, which supervises the bodies, to return the subsidies.
The JWF did not report the funneling of the money in a questionnaire conducted by a third-party committee established by the JOC that year, an apparent reason the JWF did not get caught in 2012.
Since 2013, the JOC has shouldered the portion of payments of the compensation that had been paid by sports bodies, for reasons including that the old system came with the risk of inducing misappropriation of the funds. Currently, the government subsidizes the entire amount of payments for the compensation for designated coaches.
A senior JWF official said the JWF has not asked designated coaches to donate money since 2013, and explained, "Because the money was collected voluntarily, I think it was [an action] within the scope allowable at that time."
Though the collected money was not funneled for personal activities, the expenditures had continued. The official said the balance in the account in question was exhausted around 2015.
Concerning the issue of the JWF failing to report the matter to the third-party committee in 2012, the official said, "The person who was responsible for that resigned [from the JWF], and so nobody knows how that person responded [in the questionnaire]."
On the other hand, said one of former designated coaches: "[A senior JWF official] told me, 'Return the money because that's the rule.' I couldn't say no, considering my position. I asked how the money would be used -- no clear answer was not given."
Designated coaches are trainers and those in charge of teams the JOC commissions to develop athletes who are hoped to perform well at the Olympics.
Up until fiscal 2012, two-thirds of compensation paid to the designated coaches were financed by subsidies from the sports ministry, and the remaining one-third were shouldered by each sport's governing body.
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