The independent ethics tribunal of FINA, which cited violations of the organization’s constitution and code of ethics, suspended Paolo Barelli, the president of the Italian Swimming Federation (FIN), for a period of two years on Tuesday.
Barelli had already received a provisional ban from FINA, the world’s governing organisation for swimming, in September. An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the Italian federation.
FIN claimed 495,587.22 euros in expenditures from the Italian Olympic committee, “despite these previously having been reimbursed by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance,” according to claims of fraud that its ethics commission looked into.