With a little over a month to the start of the 2009 racing season, the bankruptcy and embezzlement scandal at IT Factory leaves Bjarne Riis and the Saxo Bank team with a budget that is almost half of that expected.

In Copenhagen, Asger Jensby, the president of IT Factory admitted that the company had asked to be put into bankruptcy as a result of suspected fraud of its CEO, Stein Bagger. Bagger disappeared Thursday night during a trip to Arab Emirates. His disappearance was reported to Interpol and an alleged embezzlement of at least 67 million euros has been discovered by IT Factory.

Primary sponsor Saxo Bank has already said that they will not increase their contribution to the team.

“We must find a new sponsor,” Bjarne Riis said yesterday. “The team will not stop.”

Even though Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre has left the team, they still have a fairly hefty payroll, with stars such as Fabian Cancellera, Frank Schleck, Andy Schleck, Stuart O’Grady and Matti Bresichel still on the roster.

I would say that their best hope at this time is to ask their sponsors to double up on their 2009 outlay to give the organization time to line up another sponsor.

Information obtained from Le Derniere Heure (DH.be)

Tags: andy schleck, Asger Jensby, Bankruptcy, carlos sastre, Copenhagen, EUR, Fabian Cancellera, France, frank schleck, Interpol, it factory, Matti Bresichel, saxo bank, Saxo Bank A/S, Stein Bagger, Stuart O'Grady, Tour de France News