Rio 2016 officials sacked for stealing London files

Ten members of the 2016 Olympics organising committee have been sacked for stealing computer files relating to the organisation of the 2012 London Olympics, a Rio 2016 spokesman told AFP on Friday. The Rio employees, who had been working alongside London staff during the summer Olympics and Paralympics, had downloaded internal documents without authorization. "These Brazilian officials worked in partnership with the London 2012 Games (LOCOG) in London, had free access to the archives but did not have the right to download," the spokesman added. In a statement, the Rio 2016 Committee stressed the attitude of the officials was "contrary to the principles governing mutual trust between the two organisations". "Those involved were identified and the leadership of Rio 2016 and LOCOG acted jointly and quickly to repair the situation," the statement continued. "All of the documents were recovered and returned, and the employees were dismissed by Rio 2016." Rio 2016 officials insisted this was an "isolated" incident given that some 200 of their employees were in London for the duration of the Games. According to reports, London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe telephoned his Brazilian counterpart Carlos Nuzman when he discovered that the documents had been downloaded without permission, and demanded that immediate action be taken. Brazilian sports commentator and journalist Juca Kfouri claimed in his blog that the London files included information about strategic planning of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and security.