Rio 2016 director of communications Mario Andrada confirmed on Sunday the organising committee was contesting the injunction, adding of the crisis: “We’re going to do what needs to be done”.
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In July, the International Olympic Committee gave Rio 2016 a $137 million advance on money that should have been paid later in the year, but that has not filled the funding black hole.
The decision late on Friday by Rio de Janeiro federal judge Marcia Maria Nunes was based on a request by federal prosecutors to prevent disbursements announced by a minister this month created to prop up the accounts of the organising committee.
Russia’s drug-tarnished reputation suffered another blow when the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced this month it was suspending the country over evidence of state involvement in a doping cover-up scheme published in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren.
Paes claimed it would be a “shame” for Brazil not to be able to host the Paralympics and justified the likely expenditure on the grounds that the event is less capable than the Olympic Games to cover costs in other ways.
The International Paralympic Committee said the payments, which are vital for funding travel and logistics, must be sent to its members next week.
“Paralympics NZ is fortunate to have the support of High Performance Sport New Zealand, a family of commercial partners and most recently, fundraising activity that saw the New Zealand public generously donate”.
Almost 4,300 athletes from 164 countries took part in the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
This money enables many poorer countries to get to the Games and it is feared dozens of teams might not be able to attend if the money fails to arrive soon.
Craven described the situation as “pretty precarious”, but doesn’t believe any sports will be cut from the Paralympic program.
“We had to make cuts in the Olympic Games to balance the budget and we need to produce similar cuts to make sure the Paralympics also balances, but there is no intention to compromise the Paralympic experience”, he insisted.
“This is the last thing that we want to do”.
Paes provided a personal guarantee that the city will cover the costs of the Paralympic Games, claiming he was prepared to deliver BRL150 million (£40 million/$55 million/€47 million) to ensure the success of the event.
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However, that money can not be paid until the injunction on public funding is lifted.
