The first reaction from COSR after the Court of Accounts investigation regarding the amount of 500,000 euros allocated without a legal basis: “We will implement the measures”

COSR claims to have received the official report of the Court of Accounts, and the organization will analyze the recommendations made and impose the measures ordered in accordance with the legal provisions.

CONTEXT:

• In October 2024, Gazeta Sporturilor published the prize grid proposed by the Romanian Rowing Federation (FRC) for the forum's employees and athletes, as a result of the results recorded at the 2024 Olympic Games. Rowing brought 5 of Romania's 9 medals at the competition in Paris.

• In that table, which Elisabeta Lipă claimed was only “a simulation”, 324,800 euros would have gone to the chief accountant and the general secretary. In the end, the chief accountant, Roxana Petrescu, was left with 86,000 euros, and general secretary Cătălin Erhan got 100,000 euros.

• At that time, the case gained momentum after the statements of Eduard Novak, former minister of sports. “We are talking about a world star, David Popovici, and the general secretary of a federation, a nobody, gets more than David Popovici?!”, said Novak in dialogue with GSP.

• On December 9, the Court of Accounts finalized the report on the public money received by FRC employees, as a result of the results of the last two editions of the Olympic Games. The conclusion was that approximately €480,000 was paid without a legal basis.

COSR reacted following the report of the Court of Accounts: “Our organization will implement the measures that have been ordered in accordance with the legal provisions”

“The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) took note of the audit report carried out by the Court of Accounts of Romania, a mission carried out according to the verification program regarding the administration and use of public funds.

The control concerned the financial and operational activity of COSR carried out during the period analyzed by the Court of Accounts, with the aim of evaluating the compliance of the procedures, compliance with the legislation and the efficiency of the use of the resources made available to the organization.

Throughout the entire process, COSR provided all auditors with full access to internal documents, information and procedures, in the spirit of transparency and good institutional governance.

A series of information and explanations from those presented by COSR were accepted by the auditors of the Court of Accounts already during the control, according to the procedural provisions, thus clarifying an important part of the aspects that were the subject of the control.

Following the completion of the verifications, the Court of Accounts issued the official report, which was received by COSR. Our organization is in the process of analyzing the recommendations that the Court of Accounts has formulated and will implement the measures that have been ordered in accordance with the legal provisions applicable to the audited domains, within the terms and conditions established by the legislation in force.

The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, in accordance with the rules according to which it operates, remains consistent with the principles applied until now, following as in the future to implement the best management practices, to continue strengthening the internal control and audit mechanisms, permanently improving the administrative and operational processes, by proposing and supporting some legislative changes aimed at ensuring clarity and coherence in the application of the rules that regulate a number of aspects of performance sports activity, including in the areas checked by the Court of Justice Accounts.

The performances of the Romanian Olympic team at the last edition of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games reflect the dedication and contribution of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee to Olympic success“, the COSR press release states.