Marcos Jara, the former president of the Chilean Federation of Aquatics Sport, has been issued a 20-year ban by the Aquatics Integrity Unit of World Aquatics. The sanction was imposed after Jara was found to have violated the FINA Code of Conduct on two occasions and the FINA Code of Ethics on one occasion.
In 2020 and 2021, Jara submitted tampered invoices and false information to World Aquatics in an attempt to receive additional funds through the Olympic Aquatics Support Program. He managed to dishonestly obtain $50,000 USD before an investigation was launched. On August 25, 2023, Jara was formally charged and his ban will be in effect until August 25, 2043. As part of the ban, he is prohibited from participating in any aquatic-related activities on behalf of World Aquatics or any other affiliated organization. Additionally, Jara has been fined $50,000 to repay the misappropriated funds.
Jara is not the only official to face disciplinary action from World Aquatics in recent months. Other individuals, such as former president of the National Swimming Federation of North Macedonia, Aleksandar Malenko, and former chairman of the Arab Swimming Federation, Taha Sulaiman Al Kishry, have also received bans or suspensions. Recently, coaches and administrators of the Guam Swimming Federation, Christopher Duenas and Andrew Ho Lee, were banned for three years for violating World Aquatics’ integrity code. Jara served as president of the Chilean Federation of Aquatics Sport from 2019 to 2021.
