NETANYA – In a stunning turn of events, the Israeli Swimming Association has been rocked by allegations of fiduciary fraud against its president Noam Zwi. Zwi has resigned due to the scandal, while CEO Aharon Isars also announced his resignation effective March 31.
Zwi, who has been the president of the organization for 13 years, is currently under police investigation for conflicts of interest within the organization as well as some of the financial decisions made while he was at the helm of the Association.
Zwi, who previously had been a member of the Association’s professional committee for nine years before taking over as president, stated that he has chosen to focus on running his own business and swimming pools rather than continue what he called his volunteer work as the Israeli Swimming President.
During a Channel 10 television news report, claims were made that the Association fraudulently received hundreds of thousands of Israeli pounds as part of a racket with the Israeli Sports Ministry. Channel 10 reported that reimbursements were requested by the Association for Israeli swimmers who were competing in U.S. colleges to cover their expenses for going to the NCAA Championships as well as conference championships. This includes the Association, under Zwi, allegedly making reimbursement requests for Israeli swimmers who made the Big Ten Conference Championships.
Israeli Swimming Association spokesperson Gil Lebanony counters this claim stating that the Association provided financial help to swimmers who could not pay their tuition, although Channel 10 reported and showed information from Association documents asking for reimbursement for expenses to NCAA and Conference meets.
This is contrary to how each of these championships are funded as the NCAA funds the competition costs for every single person competing at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships aside from relay alternates. That money comes from its huge broadcast contract for the March Madness men’s basketball tournament. Additionally, each individual school takes care of the costs of competing at conference championships.
The allegations go further stating that the Sports Ministry has been paying the Swimming Association for years under a faulty assumption.
Israeli police are currently interviewing Israeli swimmers to discover if they did receive any financial backing from the Association.
The ramifications of this story could have wide-ranging ripples if NCAA swimmers at the collegiate level did, in fact, receive extra benefits over and above some of the allowances made to swimmers by the NCAA.
Barri Avnerre David Sivor
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