This item on a German chess site seems to be saying that the organizer of the 2008 Olympiad in Dresden, Dirk Jordan, is under criminal investigation for financial improprieties related to another chess event. Anyone heard anything more about this or seen the original reports?
Investigation of Dresden Organizer?
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corruption with olypmics seems attached to dresden. If I remember correctly, in Dresden was corruption also with the german olympics application for the summer games a year or two ago. Someone went to prison already and someone lost his job, the bürgermeister was involved. Someone else remembers?
According to the last paragraph of this article (in German) ...
http://schach.twoday.net/stories/3588970/
... it doesn't sound very serious. There was an anonymous hint which they check now. The city Dresden doesn't really seem to believe that there were financial improperties during the European championship for women in 2004.
Mormons live in Germany too?
The article linked by supergrobi (and by the original article) says that Dirk Jordan is -or has been until recently, it's not quite clear- insolvent. Juicy, but this was known from the start. The city administration definitely did know. They put a financial watchdog at his side, who is the one who signs the bills. Mr Jordan himself claims to have been a victim of the Jellissen affair (a well-known case of fraud in the German chess scene). The investigation mentioned is said to be a routine affair, following up an anonymous hint.
Quite interesting - but there's not much new in it. Apparently the author of the article thinks now it's the right time to bring it up.
The German olympics application was from Leipzig, not Dresden. When Leipzig was out the story disappeared from the headlines, I don't know what became of it.
Politicians live in Germany too?
This is, methinks, due to the criminally bad web coverage of the Euro2007 Championships ;-)
Some details on the investigation:
the German Chess Federation has not only collected the starting fees for the European Women Championship Dresden 2004 but also the hotel fees. Nothing wrong with that.
They transfered the amount to the Society of Mr.Jordan in Dresden (about 100.000 Euro). Nothing wrong with that.
But following up they applied for a subsidy of the ministry of education and cultural affairs in Saxony. Finally they got more than 30.000 Euros (some 30%) but only on condition that this amount would be of their own resources. In fact it was the money of the participants, cash in transit.