World Athletics uncovers systematic internal theft totalling over $1.7M US for years

World Athletics says it lost more than 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million US) to "systematic theft" which allegedly involved its own employees.

World Athletics said on Thursday it handed over detailed case information to "the relevant judicial and legal authorities for criminal investigation" after an audit discovered suspicious activity over several years. It said it terminated the contracts of one employee and a consultant and another employee had already left.

The Monaco-based governing body of track and field didn't name any of the people it suspects in the theft. It told The Associated Press in an emailed statement that authorities in Britain and Monaco had been contacted.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe pledged to use "the full force of the law" to recover as much of the mone