Changes approved for FIA statute: why there's concern about "worrying concentration of power" in hands of Ben Sulayem

Changes approved for FIA statute: why there’s concern about “worrying concentration of power” in hands of Ben Sulayem. FIA: with 75% of votes in favor, the reform regarding the ethics and auditing committees passes .

Favorable vote
The General Assembly of the FIA, meeting today in Rwanda, voted on changes to the federal statute, approving them with a large majority of 75% of the eligible voters.

What will happen?
These changes concern the ethics committee – with the FIA president and the president of the Senate overseeing complaints (which previously had to go through the Senate) – and the compliance officer, who will no longer be allowed to independently investigate financial matters. Furthermore, both the FIA president and the Senate president will have the power to appoint the head of the ethics committee and the compliance officer.

The concern about “concentration of power”
Concerns about the shift pushed by president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had already emerged in recent weeks, and were reiterated in recent days by some prominent figures in the motorsport world.
Thierry Willemack, president of the Royal Touring Club of Belgium, explained to the BBC: “This is a concentration of power that we should be worried about. The correct interpretation of these moves is that the FIA president and the president of the FIA Senate will control the ethics and compliance committees.”
And it is no secret that Ben Sulayem himself was scrutinized by the ethics committee in 2023.

Discontent also revolves around the way these changes were proposed and approved, effectively bypassing the FIA statute review committee, as the new measures were submitted to an electronic vote by the members of the World Council, without any preliminary discussion in the General Assembly. Another point of discussion is the transparency of the decision-making process, with David Richards – head of motorsport UK – warning: “The major global organizations will refuse to cooperate with the FIA if it does not meet the highest standards of corporate governance.”