Examples of Fraud in Organizing the Sochi Olympics

It's no secret that with its price-tag of $51 billion, the 2014 Sochi Olympics are the most expensive games ever organized in history. The $51 billion is five the amount spent on the Vancouver Winter Games four years ago, and shatters the ~$45 billion China spent on the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

The original expected price tag? $12 billion, a budget decided back in 2007. The International Olympic Committee has to regret awarding Russia the right to organize the Winter Olympics for everything that has, and is, occurring.

$51 billion is a monetary total that could purchase all 32 NFL teams, which are priced by Forbes at $37.4 billion. $51 billion is more than the nominal GDP of 108 countries (the entire economy of Guatemala is less than Sochi's cost).

It should be no surprise that Russia is notorious for corruption and bribes, but even this is extreme, especially considering that Sochi did not have, nor does it yet possess, the infrastructure to host the Olympics Games.

Buzzfeed's Max Seddon published an article on 16 examples of alleged corruption, including, but not limited to:

1. The Olympics Stadium is 2.5 times more expensive than similar stadiums in Europe.
2. A mafia-linked businessman with ties to Putin's friends built the Shayba hockey arena for $33 million over the market price.
3. Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev's ski instructor was awarded contracts totaling $2.5 billion.
4. The local governor spent $15 million of Olympic funds on a helicopter for himself.

Seddon admits that the examples originate from a report by political opposition leader Alexei Navalny who has a definite anti-Putin history as a anti-corruption fighter. The full investigation can be located here.