Oleg Abalin is the longtime president of the WKF Karate-do Federation of Moldova
The results of the audit were presented during public hearings initiated by the Ministry of Education and Research (MoEI), to which representatives of WKF Moldova were invited. It was revealed that part of the funds allocated by the government in 2023-2024 were used for non-earmarked expenses. Thus, the federation submitted reports that showed expenses for the travel of athletes to participate in tournaments held under the auspices of organizations that are not internationally recognized. Moreover, these business trips were not coordinated with the relevant department, and the fact of athletes’ participation in some of these tournaments was not confirmed at all.
The materials studied by the IOI specialists revealed such violations as forged signatures in the protocols filled in during the tournaments, allocation of smaller sums to athletes in comparison with those indicated in the travel vouchers and other documents. As the audit revealed, some items of expenses were indicated and paid twice – from state funds and other sources of funding. The IOI demanded that the management of WKF Moldova return the funds allocated for support in 2023-2024. The specific amounts were not named, but it is assumed to exceed 1.5 million lei. This can be judged by the fact that in 2025, the Karate-Do Federation received 1.178 million lei from the government for the results of athletes and for the maintenance of its activities. Further funding of the organization is immediately frozen.
Moreover, the IOI announced its intention to send materials to the competent authorities in order to determine whether the detected violations are sufficient to initiate a criminal case. In case they are detected, the cooperation contract between the IOI and WKF Moldova will be terminated, the federation will be dissolved and the perpetrators will be punished in accordance with the Criminal Code.
Also, the Ministry intends to send a request to the World Karate Federation to withdraw the membership status from WKF Moldova. “From now on we will support athletes and organizations that act within the law, it is unacceptable for us the lack of responsibility when taxpayers’ money is at stake,” said Education Minister Dan Perciun.
The representatives of Bars, Liderul, Maestrul Prim, Bogatyr clubs, their coaches and athletes, as well as referees reacted. The clubs are part of the WKF Moldova structure and are subordinated to the federation’s leadership. They expressed concern about the statements of the Minister of Education and Research, condemned the actions of the federation’s leadership and declared their non-involvement in the facts presented by the authorities.
According to the representatives of the clubs, the responsibility for the illegal actions lies with the president of WKF Moldova, Oleg Abalin, who “managed public funds in a non-transparent, arbitrary and improper manner, seriously violating the principles of legality, integrity and transparency”. He is suspected by members of karate-do clubs of making decisions on financial matters contrary to the interests of the majority of federation members, usurpation of collegial powers, forgery of documents and embezzlement.
Members of the federation, who condemned the actions of the leadership, stated that the revealed facts negatively affect the image of the organization. They consider it unacceptable to hold the entire sports community responsible for the blatant actions of a narrow circle of persons heading WKF Moldova. They claim that the federation has dozens of clubs and hundreds of athletes, who daily defend the Olympic values and act in the spirit of fair competition.
On behalf of the members of the federation, an appeal has been sent to the legal structures with a request to bring to responsibility the persons in charge of WKF Moldova, in particular the president Oleg Abalin, for the revealed facts about serious violations in the organization’s activity. They ask to protect the rights of athletes, coaches and all persons cooperating with the federation, who did not take part in the abuses and suffered from them. At the same time, it is proposed to recover the financial resources spent as a result of fraudulent schemes only from those responsible for their distribution. And those members of the federation who do not have the authority to make financial decisions should be excluded from the list of possible suspects.
The representatives of the clubs, who condemned the actions of the WKF Moldova leadership, expressed confidence that the competent authorities and the media will clearly distinguish between the actions of the governing bodies and the rest of the federation members, who are open to cooperation with state structures and support the legal approach aimed at accountability and transparency of actions. They also expressed their interest in a profound reform of the federation, which, in their opinion, should primarily reflect the interests of athletes, coaches and the entire karate-do community in Moldova.
Oleg Abalin has not yet commented on the results of the audit conducted by the IOI, he could not be contacted. The statement of the long-time president of the Karate-do Federation of Moldova would allow a more detailed analysis of the situation, especially considering the fact that the scale of the accusations is unprecedented for a sports organization. In addition, WKF Moldova is a full member of the National Olympic and Sports Committee, which gives the federation the status of an influential organization.
The most high-profile cases of accusations of fraud against sports federations were previously actions against the former president of the Basketball Federation, Octavian Vucol, who was sentenced to eight years in prison, and against employees of the Tennis Federation (including one coach), who were suspected of organizing contractual matches in Moldova and abroad. However, these cases were not related to the expenditure of budgetary funds, so they did not receive much publicity.
