IOC has nearly $5 million tied to Madoff

LONDON: The International Olympic Committee could lose nearly $5 million in investments because of the Madoff financial scandal.

IOC finance commission chairman Richard Carrion tells The Associated Press the Olympic body has about $4.8 million tied to the multibillion dollar Ponzi scam by New York financier Bernard Madoff.

Carrion says ``that could be the maximum loss.'' The IOC has total financial reserves of about $400 million. IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau says the Madoff affair would have ``limited impact'' on the organization. She says the IOC's financial foundation is solid ``due to a conservative budgeting and investment strategy.''