A third case of suspected sexual harassment by a Finnish Olympic Committee member has surfaced, the committee announced on Tuesday.
The latest case involves a male committee employee accused of harassing a female coworker at an Olympic team preparation camp ahead of the 2022 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
The case will be brought to the Finnish Center for Sports Ethics (SUEK) for investigation, the committee said.
The committee came under fire in March for its handling of allegations of harassment against former official Mika Lehtimäki and his subsequent contract renewal.
The case against Lehtimäki, and the case against ex-Olympic Committee board chair Anni Vuohijoki make up the two other misconduct cases presently under investigation by SUEK.
Vuohijoki, a 33-year-old weightlifter, announced her resignation from the committee board on Friday, following allegations that she harassed members of the Finnish men's ice hockey team during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Events relating to the latest case were discussed with the parties involved last summer, but no accusations of harassment were expressed during those talks, the committee said.
The subject of the alleged harassment contacted the Ombudsman for Equality requesting an investigation, who then requested a clarification from the Olympic Committee. The committee said that in order to ensure an impartial investigation, the case should be forwarded to an independent third party, SUEK, to be investigated.
Finnish Olympic Committee President Jan Vapaavuori said in a statement on Tuesday that the action was taken in order to show the committee's commitment to creating an ethical sporting community.
"We have responded to all cases that have come to our attention and conducted our own investigation in each case. Yet, we believe it is important that these matters are also investigated by an independent body," Vapaavuori said.
