America’s Cup defender Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) has terminated its agreement with an unnamed contractor after it emerged that secrets may have been leaked from its Auckland base.
ETNZ released a statement in which it said the team, along with race organisers America’s Cup Events (ACE), “became suspicious that we had informants” within ACE.
It added these suspicions “were confirmed when we had confidential and sensitive information coming back to us from Europe very recently”.
“The motives of the informants who had access to the Emirates Team New Zealand base can only be guessed at, at this stage,” the statement continued.
“In addition, these people have made highly defamatory and inaccurate allegations regarding financial and structural matters against ACE, ETNZ, and its personnel.”
ETNZ managing director Grant Dalton told NZ news site Stuff that the team is “flabbergasted” at the situation, which he said he and colleagues had suspected for the last six months. Stuff has much more on the story HERE.
As reported earlier today on Afloat.ie, the AC75 Defiant, built for the America’s Cup challenger New York Yacht Club American Magic, has arrived in Auckland a month after departing from the team’s Florida base.