Four members of Haitian swimming federation banned for misusing $75K

CAP-HAITIEN — While scores of Haitians worldwide have been blaming the Haitian Olympians’ subpar performances on lack of financial support, on Aug. 6, the Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU) suspended four members of the Haitian Federation of Aquatics Sports (FHSA) for misusing more than USD 75,000 allocated to support the athletes.

“This is a serious scandal,” Haitian Olympic Committee President Hans Larsen said. “An entire team — not one person — directing a federation was accused of magouy [Creole for fraud]. It means that maybe we could’ve done better with the money that was available plus the parents’ effort.”

According to AQIU, FHSA President Evenel Mervilus, Executive Director James Cius, and Treasurer Jean Jean Remilus were suspended for 10 years and Adjunct Treasurer Ruby King for five years from all aquatic-related activities on behalf of World Aquatics.

FHSA president denies allegations, accuses his accuser

Mervilus sent four open letters to The Haitian Times via WhatsApp, in which he denied the allegations and claimed that, on the contrary, Haiti was able to participate in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships because of his own personal funds.

“These sanctions are not only biased and discriminatory but also a serious miscarriage of justice,” Mervilus wrote in an open letter. “I refuse to accept any decision that lacks integrity, transparency, and fairness. I will fight until the end.”

AQIU’s investigation into the alleged embezzlement scandal started in January when Larsen filed a complaint to World Aquatics against FHSA for financial mismanagement.

In one of the two open letters addressed to Larsen directly, Mervilus said that Larsen is the one who has been misusing funds, not him.

“You’re also managing the funds of COH by using cards that are under your name to do transitions without transparency and reimburse yourself because it’s also you who’s signing COH’s checks,” Mervilus said without providing proof.

Meanwhile, King, the adjunct treasurer, said in a WhatsApp message that she was not able to answer questions yet and needed time. However, King deferred to another FHSA member, Adjunct Secretary Sephar Jean Louis.

FHSA members clumsily put the blame on the president

Speaking on behalf of FHSA, Louis said, with the exception of Mervilus, no one was aware that World Aquatics remitted more than USD 75,000 to the local federation between 2021 and 2023. He added that Mervilus fraudulently signed documents for the other members. Louis also accused Mervilus of mistitling King as the adjunct treasurer when she was the treasurer and of misidentifying Remilus as treasurer during the alleged mismanagement of funds.

“I don’t know who Mister Jean Jean is,” Louis said. “Two things happened here. There’s a violation of the code of ethics of the International Swimming Federation, as well as usurpation of title and usage of fake signatures.”

“It’s so ugly. It’s so ugly that people don’t need to know the whole thing… They submitted so many fake papers.”

Hans Larsen, Haitian Olympic Committee president 

However, Remilus is the main respondent in a 13-page document AQIU released during the sanction. AQIU contacted Remilus and he denied the allegations, according to the 13-page document. Larsen also told The Haitian Times that Remilus is a member of FHSA.

While the other FHSA members are pushing to put the blame on Mervilus, Louis applauds him being sanctioned.

“If you [Mervilus] falsified a document and wrote it under someone else’s name, when the sanction came we encouraged it,” Louis said. “We were managing the federation together and you’re our friends, there are things friends don’t do to each other.”

Although Louis said the other members of the federation were not aware of the USD 75,000 funds, the 13-page document states that Cius, the executive director, “admitted to having altered documents including airline tickets” in an April 2024 email.

No reimbursement for athletes, fake receipts

Another malicious act in the embezzlement scandal is that FHSA failed “to reimburse athletes’ travel expenses and threatened to exclude them from competitions when they raised concerns about it,” Clio Grand’Pierre, mother of three athletes who have represented Haiti in swimming told investigators, according to the 13-page document. 

Grand’Pierre declined to comment for this writing. Her three children who have competed for Haiti are Naomy Grand’Pierre, who swam at the 2016 Olympics, Emilie Grand’Pierre at the 2020 Olympics, and more recently, Alexandre Grand’Pierre at the 2024 Olympics.

Larsen said members of FHSA also used fabricated receipts from the Internet to try to prove that they purchased equipment for athletes or other items for the federation. 

“It’s so ugly,” Larsen said. “It’s so ugly that people don’t need to know the whole thing… They submitted so many fake papers.”

Larsen said the Haitian Olympic Committee has been aware of FHSA’s alleged mismanagement of funds for about three years. He held a meeting three years ago with FHSA members to try to solve the issue.

“I said, here’s a receipt that you [Mervilus] gave that’s not correct,” Larsen said. “He started making a scene… Instead of answering questions, he just got up and left.”

Since Larsen couldn’t fix the issue “at home” as he put it, in January, he filed a complaint to World Aquatics against Jean, Mervilus and King. AQIU started investigating the matter in February. 

Jean denied all allegations that same month, according to the 13-page report. He and Cius were provisionally suspended during the investigation in February. The four FHSA members were later suspended altogether after the six-month investigation earlier this week. 

Embezzlement is a crime that has plagued Haiti and its diaspora for years, affecting various sectors such as churches, nonprofits, disaster relief efforts, and developmental projects. This widespread misappropriation of funds is a significant factor contributing to the country’s ongoing struggles. It not only hampers economic development but also undermines public trust in institutions. 

Among other consequences, the siphoning of resources meant for public good has led to many Haitians struggling to make ends meet, to underperformance of athletes, and stunting the nation’s overall progress. The pervasive nature of corruption in Haiti, often likened to organized crime, exacerbates these issues, making it difficult for the country to move forward and develop effectively.

During the Olympics, Alexandre Grand’Pierre finished in 28th place overall out of 35 athletes in the 100-meter breaststroke, swimming it in 1:02.85 on July 27. The other Haitian swimmer, 14-year-old Mayah Chouloute came up in 59th place overall out of 79, swimming the 50-meter freestyle race in 29.78 seconds on Aug. 3.

Editor’s note — This article has been updated from the original version to include comments from the president of the Haitian Federation of Aquatics Sports (FHSA), Evenel Mervilus, on the sanction against him.

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