Suspect named in sports federation €70,000 embezzlement allegations
The reputation of a major sports promotion organization in Estonia has taken a serious hit following suspicions a former employee embezzled around €70,000 from its coffers.
ERR has information that the suspect is former Estonian national basketball player Marek Doronin. He had been until recently an employee of the Estonian Academic Sports Federation (EASL) from 2017, and was even its secretary general for the past two years.
Now, the federation suspects that between 2020 and 2026, the former employee, which the organization itself has not named, misappropriated accommodation and ticket fees from events, and also fabricated payments for refereeing services.
"As an organization, we are deeply disappointed in the dishonest actions of our former employee, but we will not disclose the person's name. We leave the administration of justice to the court," EASL President Hendrik Voll said.
Suspicion arose within the organization, and we responded immediately. We conducted a very thorough internal investigation and arrived at this situation," he added.
The sum of €70,000 accounts for over half the federation's yearly budget, he noted.
"The amount of money involved in the embezzlement is large, but to be honest, the shame at this moment is even greater. The entire academic world is based on trust, and sport is based on fair play, and at the moment both have been abused. To determine the exact final financial damage, we have filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office, and that is still being clarified," he went on.
In addition to the criminal complaint filed with the prosecutor's office over the alleged embezzlement, the federation has also submitted a civil claim to recover the damages caused.
Going forward, Voll pledged to turn things around after a period of "internal reflection," adding that student sport is likely to be a big focus for the organization.
The Estonian Academic Sports Federation is an umbrella organization which promotes student sport, coordinating sporting activities between Estonia's higher education institutions and representing Estonian student sport internationally. The federation organizes student sports competitions, develops recreational physical activity, and creates opportunities for students to participate in sporting events both domestically and abroad.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Henrik Laever
