Grange notes INSPORTS fraud charges, says entity no longer a 'rogue agency'

Sports Minister Olivia Grange has commented on the arrest and charge of three people in connection with a $222 million fraud at the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS), stating that the alleged irregularities took place during a time when the entity was considered a "rogue agency".

The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) on Wednesday announced that several charges had been laid against party promoter Andrew Wright and his alleged co-conspirators, Rudolph Barnes and Oneil Hope in relation to fraud committed between 2011 and 2017.

"I await the outcome of the process," Grange said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

READ: 'Chug It' party promoter among three charged in $222 million INSPORTS fraud

Grange pointed out that in 2016, when the current Government returned to power, she received a special audit of INSPORTS done by the Auditor General, which showed an organisation that was "continually breaking the law, badly managed and in need of urgent transformation".

"I understand that the arrests and charges are linked to that period when INSPORTS was considered a rogue agency. Under our watch, the Institute of Sports is a completely transformed agency with improved internal controls, is well-run and delivering its mandate of developing sports at the grassroots,” she stated.

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