IOC Inquiry Committee on AIBA Situation
Report to the IOC Executive Board
1.

IOC Inquiry Committee mandate and work performed
MandateOn 30 November 2018, the IOC Executive Board initiated, pursuant to the Olympic Charter, an inquiry
regarding the International Boxing Association (AIBA). To that effect, the IOC Executive Board delegated its
authority, including the organisation of the meeting with AIBA, to an ad-hoc Inquiry Committee with the remit
to:a.

analyse the AIBA Progress Report and the measures presented in it to address IOC’s major
concerns regarding governance, ethics, financial management and refereeing and judging;b.

investigate and assess the areas of major concerns within AIBA, including governance, ethical,
financial management and refereeing and judging;c.

form a recommendation for the IOC Executive Board on potential measures and sanctions inaccordance with the Olympic Charter.

The composition of the Inquiry Committee was announced as Mr Nenad Lalovic (Chair, IOC Executive
Board Member), Mr Richard Carrion and Ms Emma Terho (IOC Members).

Appointment of an external independent expert
After a first review of the information provided by AIBA to the IOC during 2018, in particular the then mostrecent submission dated 12 November 2018, the IOC Inquiry Committee decided to appoint an
independent expert, Deloitte SA (“Deloitte”) to assist in further analysing the areas of major concerns
within AIBA as identified by the IOC Executive Board.
Deloitte identified an additional list of documents and information needed to allow a detailed analysis ofeach specific area of concern. These documents were provided by AIBA to the IOC Inquiry Committee on
21 February 2019 and 10 April 2019.
Deloitte finalised its report after the official meeting with AIBA that took place on 20 May 2019.

Additional research and information
Following the announcement of its appointment, the IOC Inquiry Committee was contacted by various
third parties informally. However, the IOC Inquiry Committee disregarded any information that was not
submitted in writing. The IOC Inquiry Committee also made its own research in the public domain.

Official meeting with AIBAAIBA was invited for a meeting on 20 May 2019 to present its comments over the various concerns raisedby the IOC Executive Board. This meeting took place at the IOC Headquarters at 14.00.
AIBA answered a final series of questions by the IOC Inquiry Committee and was given a chance topresent all its observations.
AIBA highlighted the progress they made since December 2017 in a number of areas, which in theiropinion should allow them to continue to be in charge of the sport of boxing at the Olympic Games.

2.

Context leading to the current Inquiry

The decision by the IOC Executive Board of 30 November 2018 to initiate this inquiry is the result of overa year of exchanges between the IOC and AIBA.

IOC Executive Board decision of 6 December 2017
On 6 December 2017, the IOC Executive Board took note of the resignation of Mr Ching-Kuo Wu as AIBA
President on 9 November 2017 and as an IOC Executive Board Member. At the same time, the IOC
Executive Board requested specific steps to be taken by AIBA in view of serious concerns related togovernance within the International Federation and its financial stability, in particular the level ofindebtedness. The deadline to take those steps was fixed at 31 January 2018. These specific steps
included among others (i) a financial audit by an independent internationally recognised accounting firm,(ii) an independent review through the ASOIF Governance Task Force of AIBA’s governance and (iii) thecontinuation of changes to be implemented in the area of refereeing and judging which were identified
after the Olympic Games Rio 2016. The letter addressed to AIBA informing them of the IOC Executive
Board decision was notified to the then AIBA’s Interim President, Mr Falcinelli, on 12 December 2017
(Appendix I).

Appointment of Mr Gafur Rahimov as Interim President
During AIBA’s extraordinary Congress held on 27 January 2018 in Dubai, Mr Falcinelli resigned from his
position as Interim President and Mr Gafur Rahimov was appointed as new Interim President.
At the time of the Olympic Games Sydney 2000, despite his accreditation as Uzbekistan NOC’s VicePresident, the Australian authorities refused his entrance into their territory. The IOC Inquiry Committee
understands that this was related to Mr Gafur Rahimov being listed as an internationally researchedperson.
Research in the public domain showed that on 23 February 2012, Mr Gafur Rahimov had been added by
the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) to the Specially Designed
Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”) pursuant to US Executive Order 13581. In a press
release, the US Department of Treasury identified him as a key member of the Brothers’ Circle, whichaccording to the US Treasury is a “criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of several
Eurasian criminal groups”. Mr Rahimov was described as “one of the leaders of Uzbek organised crimewith a specialty in the organised production of drugs in the countries of Central Asia”. This designation
was reiterated in October 2013. On 22 December 2017, Mr Gafur Rahimov was also designated by the
US Treasury Department as linked to the “Thieves in Law”, another transnational crime organisation.

IOC Executive Board decision of 5 February 2018
After reviewing the AIBA progress report dated 31 January 2018, the IOC Executive Board on 5 February
2018 highlighted significant concerns regarding the said report and developments within AIBA andtherefore decided a series of measures and next steps including: (i) to open an investigation into thegovernance of AIBA by the IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, (ii) to suspend any financial
payments to AIBA, including boxing-related payments scheduled by Olympic Solidarity and (iii) to freeze
all contacts with AIBA except the ones on the working level. Therefore, The IOC Executive Board requireda further report by 25 April 2018. This decision was notified to AIBA’s Executive Vice-President
Mr Falcinelli on 8 February 2018 (Appendix II).

IOC Executive Board decision of 3 May 2018
On 3 May 2018, the IOC Executive Board took note of the information provided in the AIBA report dated
25 April 2018 in response to the requests addressed to AIBA on 8 February 2018. However, the IOC
Executive Board concluded that key concerns were still not addressed and required further information,in particular in the areas of governance, finance and anti-doping. Therefore, the IOC Executive Board
maintained its decision taken in February 2018 and requested that further information would have to bedelivered by 6 July 2018 (Appendix III).

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IOC Executive Board decision of 19 July 2018
During its meeting on 19 July 2018, the IOC Executive Board took note of the documents provided by
AIBA on 6 and 16 July 2018 and expressed its significant ongoing concern with the key areas previously
identified. As noted in its previous meetings in February 2018 and May 2018, the IOC Executive Board
specified that appropriate steps to address the issues over the next months, as well as the outcome of the
AIBA Congress in Moscow to take place on 2-3 November 2018, were crucial.
By the same decision, notified to AIBA by letter dated 20 July 2018 (Appendix IV), the IOC Executive
Board maintained its previous decision, required the AIBA’s report to be delivered by 12 November 2018
and specified that, should the appropriate requirements and actions not be fully implemented to thesatisfaction of the IOC Executive Board, the IOC reserved the right to review the inclusion of boxing on
the programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

IOC letter dated 3 October 2018
During its meeting on 3 October 2018, the IOC Executive Board noticed misleading communication fromAIBA leadership to national boxing federations regarding the IOC’s position. In a public statement, theIOC Executive Board “reiterates its clear position that if the governance issues are not properly addressedto the satisfaction of the IOC at the forthcoming AIBA Congress, the existence of boxing on the Olympic
Programme and even the recognition of AIBA as an International Federation recognised by the IOC are
under threat” (Appendix V).

IOC Executive Board decision of 30 November 2018
During its meeting held on 30 November 2018, while acknowledging AIBA’s progress and its
commitments, the IOC Executive Board noted that several points of significant concern remained in theareas of governance, ethics, financial management and refereeing and judging.
The IOC Executive Board also took note of the election of Mr Gafur Rahimov as AIBA President by the
AIBA Congress held in Moscow on 2-3 November 2018. In this regard, the IOC Executive Board
expressed its concern on the impact of Mr Gafur Rahimov’s designation by OFAC on AIBA’s and its
President’s capacity to fulfil their responsibilities as an Olympic International Federation.
In view of the above points of major concern and pursuant to the Olympic Charter, the IOC Executive
Board decided additional measures and steps, including to mandate the IOC Inquiry Committee to conduct
an inquiry (see section 1.1). This decision was notified to AIBA by a letter dated 3 December 2018
(Appendix VI).

3.

Analysis

The IOC Inquiry Committee reviewed all the documents and information gathered during its inquiry as wellas those gathered by the IOC during the period leading up to it, including the detailed report of its external
expert Deloitte. The below is the assessment of the current situation based on the information available.

Continuous disregard of basic governance standards, in breach of the
Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics
Information collected from AIBA as well as public sources show that AIBA has been and continues to be
managed in disregard of basic principles of good governance required in accordance with the IOC Codeof Ethics (2018 edition) and the Olympic Charter.
In particular, since it was first approved in 1999, the IOC Code of Ethics reminds that all the Olympic
Parties, including all recognised organisations, must refrain from acting in any manner which might tarnish
the reputation of the Olympic Movement. In a great number of its decisions, the IOC Ethics Commission
stressed the importance of the respect of the reputation of the Olympic Movement by all its stakeholders.
The disregard of these principles exposes the IOC, its members and commercial partners as well as other
Olympic Movement stakeholders to excessive reputational, legal and financial risks.

33.1.1. Low level of overall governance according to the ASOIF Governance Task
Force
It is noted that the ASOIF Governance Task Force (GTF) has been created to ensure that the generallevel of governance of the International Federations (IFs) is regularly reviewed and monitored and IFs aresupported to improve their governance levels where needed. The GTF also supported AIBA through its
process and made several assessments of AIBA’s governance levels.
The first assessment of AIBA by the ASOIF GTF in 2017 showed very serious shortcomings. The second
evaluation in 2018, taking into account all the documentation provided by AIBA as well as the information
available on the AIBA website, showed that the level of transparency did effectively improve since the firstassessment with the publication of AIBA statutes, rules and regulation, organisational structures, etc. It
has also been noted that AIBA made effective progress regarding the implementation of the WADA Code,in particular by signing a contract with the International Testing Authority (ITA). During the meeting with
the IOC Inquiry Committee, AIBA mentioned that they are expecting a substantial increase in the next
ASOIF scoring.
However, the overall level of governance, at this point in time, more specifically regarding integrity,
democracy and checks & balance/control mechanisms, remains very low despite the progress made since
December 2017.
The following illustrate the remaining gap between the current AIBA governance and the expected levelof governance which must be respected by the Olympic Movement stakeholders, according to the Olympic
Charter.

3.1.2. Absence of clear governance processes
The various decisions regarding one of the AIBA Executive Committee’s candidates demonstrate the lowlevel of governance processes within AIBA.
In a letter sent to the AIBA Executive Committee on 20 September 2018 (press article Insidethegames 21
September 2018), Mr Falcinelli, Vice-President and former Interim President, announced his support tothe candidature of Mr Serik Konakbayev, sole opponent to the Interim President, Mr Gafur Rakhimov.
Between the 28 and 30 September 2018, the AIBA Executive Committee, by postal vote, provisionallysuspended Mr Falcinelli from his position of AIBA Vice-President, considering that he improperly shareda confidential letter sent by the IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer to the AIBA President. However,simultaneously, the AIBA Election Committee allowed Mr Falcinelli to stand for his re-election as
Vice-President, while remaining under suspension by the AIBA Executive Committee.
These contradictory decisions demonstrate a divergence of perception of integrity and illustrate insufficient
governance processes within AIBA.

3.1.3. Insufficient implementation of AIBA conflict of interest rules, in line with the
IOC Code of Ethics
According to the IOC Code of Ethics, the Olympic Movement stakeholders must refrain from placing
themselves in any situation of conflict of interest. The following are examples where basic rules aroundmanaging potential and actual conflicts of interest were ignored within AIBA.
AIBA Disciplinary and Ethics Commissions and Election Committee nominations by the AIBA President
Pursuant to article 39.2 (I and J) of the AIBA Statutes, the AIBA President proposes the individuals to
become members and Chairpersons of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commissions, later approved by the
AIBA Executive Committee. In addition, the Election Committee (article 36.5) is composed of the
Chairpersons of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commissions and of an independent member nominated by
the AIBA President. Thus, the statutory influence of the AIBA President over these three organs, throughhis personal rights to either directly appoint or propose the individuals for the approval by the AIBA
Executive Committee, is very strong.

4When the then Interim President made the proposals for the composition of the Disciplinary and Ethics
Commissions, as well as for the Election Committee, he was already i) aware that the IOC Executive
Board requested to the AIBA Ethics Commission to look into his personal situation regarding the respectof ethical principles and ii) had already announced his intention to be a candidate for the AIBA presidency,
knowing that his candidature will have to be assessed by the Election Committee.
In such conditions, his active participation in the nomination of the Ethics and Disciplinary Commissions,as well as the Election Committee, constitutes an actual situation of conflict of interest: confronted withsuch situation of conflict of interest, he should have refrained from any form of influence over thesenominations. Thus, such participation is contrary to the Basic Universal Principles of Good Governanceof the Olympic and Sports Movement (IOC Code of Ethics) which, pursuant to the Olympic Charter, must
be respected by all recognised organisations.
Executive Committee Members’ appointment
The AIBA Statutes, article 34.1 (B) provide that the President can select four Executive Committee
members, among the Executive Committee candidates who lost the election, to be appointed by theelected members of the Executive Committee. Pursuant to this article, the newly elected President
selected Mr Wu Di, among one of the non-elected candidates, knowing that Mr Wu Di was one of the mostimportant AIBA creditors and potentially in charge of the future marketing activities of AIBA (see below
section 3.3.2). Mr Wu Di declared in general terms his situation of conflict of interest and accepted not toparticipate in any discussion or decision bearing a risk of conflict of interest. Since most decisions of the
Executive Committee, in particular related to marketing activities, have a financial impact, his nomination
to the AIBA Executive Committee demonstrates a disregard of the conflict of interest principles.

3.1.4. Insufficient basic third-party due diligence and background checks
According to the IOC Code of Ethics, AIBA as a member of the Olympic Movement, should apply strict
due diligence regarding its senior management / executive team and its business partners. The following
examples demonstrate insufficient due diligence, exposing not only AIBA, its athletes and national
federations, but also the IOC, its members, commercial partners as well as the Olympic Movement
stakeholders, to potential legal, financial and reputational risks.
3.1.4.1. The Serbian API Bank closely linked to persons under US sanctions
The IOC Inquiry Committee understands that two Swiss banks decided to close AIBA’s accounts and thatno other financial establishment in Switzerland agreed to open new accounts. As a consequence, AIBA
is currently using the services of a Serbian bank, API Bank. During the meeting with the IOC Inquiry
Committee, AIBA explained that they chose API Bank because it was able to process in the currencies
AIBA trades in and because it is a recognised legal trading bank in Serbia; their due diligence did not go
beyond this.
API Bank was formed in July 2018 as a spin-off, after the sale of VTB Banka a.d. Beograd from Russianbanking group VTB to Mr Andrey Shlyakhovoy, a prominent Russian entrepreneur. The seller, VTB Bank,
appears to be subject to US sanctions. Another bank of Mr Andrey Shlyakhovoy, the Agrosoyuz Bank,
also appears to have been added to the US specially designated national list and subjected to sanctions
two weeks after API Bank was sold. The Agrosoyuz Bank is accused of facilitating “significant transactions
on behalf of the person who was on the sanctions list for activities related to weapons of mass destruction
in connection with North Korea.”
Neither the API Bank nor its owner, Mr Andrey Shlyakhovoy, are under sanction; however, their links with
US sanctioned entities and persons expose AIBA as well as the IOC and the Olympic Movement
stakeholders to a serious reputational risk, potentially even legal risks.
3.1.4.2. Mr Umar Kremlev’s offer to cover AIBA’s debts with funds of uncertain origin
On 28 March 2019, Mr Umar Kremlev informed the media of his proposal to “close all the debts of AIBA
in full, so long as our favourite sport remains in the Olympic program.” Later on, the same day, his letter
was sent to the IOC (Appendix VII).

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The letter was written on the Russian Boxing Federation letterhead of which Mr Umar Kremlev is the
Secretary General. Mr Umar Kremlev signed this letter as AIBA Executive Committee Member and EUBCFirst Vice-President. However, the wording of the letter (using the first person) seems to indicate that it israther a personal commitment from Mr Umar Kremlev himself and thus, it is unlikely that the Russian
Boxing Federation’s funds will be used to cover AIBA’s debts. In a media declaration Mr Kremlev statedthat it he would use his private funds (press article Insidethegames 28 March 2019).
Research in the public domain shows that Mr Umar Kremlev changed his name from Umar Lutfuloev; hisvarious business ventures seem unlikely to be able to secure sufficient personal savings to cover AIBA’s
debts.
AIBA’s Executive Director publicly announced “that AIBA was certainly grateful to Kremlev after he said
that he would clear the governing body’s USD 16 million debt” (press article Insidethegames 29 March2019).
Given the aforementioned information regarding Mr Umar Kremlev and the fact that his letter did notprovide any explanations on the origin of the funds to be used, the IOC Inquiry Committee questions theseriousness of the due diligence carried out by AIBA before the announcement to the media. Backgroundchecks on the origin of funds from external parties is part of basic standards of good governance expected
to be implemented by Olympic IFs.
During the IOC Inquiry Committee meeting, in response to a question by the IOC Inquiry Committee, AIBA
explained that the offer would only be accepted after satisfactory due diligence.
Additionally, during the week preceding his proposal (press article TASS 25 March 2019), Mr Umar
Kremlev expressed his willingness to campaign for the AIBA presidency, in case this position would
become vacant. Thus, the acceptance of his personal financial support to cover the debt of AIBA would
constitute a major conflict of interest.
3.1.4.3. Election of a person designated on a US Treasury sanction list as AIBA President
In February 2018, the IOC Executive Board requested that the AIBA Ethics Commission reviews thesituation of its then Interim President in the light of the decisions taken by the US authorities (see section
2.2). This request was reiterated in all the subsequent decisions by the IOC Executive Board.
Despite the fact that both, the AIBA Ethics Commission and the Election Committee were aware of thesituation of Mr Gafur Rahimov and his designation by the US Treasury Department, and assumingly theconsequences of such designation, none of these bodies seriously considered his situation taking into
account the reputational, legal or financial risk for AIBA and the Olympic Movement.
The fact that Mr Gafur Rahimov has appealed against the decisions by the US Treasury Department does
not remediate these risks since pending a decision on the appeal, Mr Gafur Rahimov remains a listed
person. During the meeting with AIBA, it was confirmed that the procedure is still ongoing.
According to US law, US persons are prohibited from dealing with sanctioned persons or entities, directly
or indirectly, controlled by sanctioned persons. As a consequence, this designation may have an impact
on the relationship between AIBA and the US boxing entities, or more generally US companies orcompanies with significant presence in the US, as well as US sponsors of AIBA.
This prohibition also concerns IOC members from the US or IOC’s US sponsors and commercial partners,
since the IOC provides funding to the Olympic Movement stakeholders.
In addition to US persons, given broad enforcement of US sanctions laws by US authorities, even nonUS persons chose, more and more often, out of precaution, to decide not to deal with US-sanctioned
persons or entities. This includes many US and non-US banks, including the bank of the IOC, whichrefuses to make any payments to AIBA at the moment.
By email sent by AIBA’s external lawyer on 20 March 2019, the IOC was made aware of the decision by
Mr Gafur Rahimov to “step aside” from the AIBA presidency, in accordance with article 39.3 of the AIBA
Statutes.

6

Pursuant to article 39.3 of the AIBA Statutes and By-law 16.3, while the Interim President could serve fora maximum of one year, there is nothing to refrain the “stepped aside” President to recover his authority
at any time, provided it is 90 days before the date of the Extraordinary Congress called to elect a new
President. Given these elements, the IOC Inquiry Committee underlines the uncertainty around the levelof engagement, influence and control over AIBA by the “inactive” President.
In fact, the IOC Inquiry Committee notices that Mr Gafur Rahimov is still mentioned on the AIBA website
as “AIBA President (Inactive)” with the email address “president@AIBA.org”.
Considering this situation, the risks to the Olympic Movement linked to Mr Gafur Rahimov’s designationby the US Treasury remain unchanged.

Insufficient safeguards to ensure sustainable and fair management ofrefereeing and judging
The IOC Inquiry Committee considered the repeated allegations related to refereeing and judging at recent
Olympic Games, while noting that such processes and decisions are under the exclusive authority of theAIBA, including during the Olympic Games.

3.2.1. Olympic Games Athens 2004
Following a series of negative comments on the judging process and decisions during the Olympic Games
Athens 2004 boxing tournament, the IOC strongly expressed its concern regarding the system of judging
as well as the mechanism to select the AIBA officials. As a consequence, on 8 July 2005, the IOC
Executive Board decided that all direct financial payments from the IOC to AIBA be temporarily frozen
until AIBA took the appropriate steps to address these issues.

3.2.2. Olympic Games Beijing 2008
In 2006, AIBA reformed the refereeing and judging process under the leadership of the then newly elected
AIBA President, Mr Ching-Kuo Wu, which was implemented for the Olympic Games Beijing 2008
competitions. Despite effective improvements, many serious claims of manipulation of the Olympic judging
emerged after a series of disputed bouts.
Following the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, AIBA stated that the competition had been fair; however,acknowledged that the level of judges and referees as well as the transparency of the processes must be
further improved.

3.2.3. Olympic Games London 2012
In 2011, the IOC Ethics Commission looked into media allegations of “money against medals” but was
unable to obtain witness statements confirming the allegations regarding Olympic medals.
During the Olympic Games London 2012, it should be noted that a scoring review system was in place.
Some of these reviews, specifically related to refereeing, resulted in the overturning of few controversial
decisions. Following the Olympic Games London 2012, the then AIBA President, Mr Ching-Kuo Wu,
dismissed the then Executive Director, Mr Ho Kim.

3.2.4. Olympic Games Rio 2016
In 2013, AIBA decided to withdraw the scoring review system from the AIBA Technical and Competition
Rules and introduced a new scoring system, similar to the one used in professional boxing.
During the Olympic Games Rio 2016, despite this new scoring system, strong criticism was voiced byvarious athletes and media. Before the end of the Olympic tournament, the AIBA President,
Mr Ching-Kuo Wu, decided to suspend the then AIBA Executive Director, Mr Karim Bouzidi, from his
functions and to set up an AIBA Special Investigation Committee (SIC).
The AIBA SIC, chaired by Mr Tom Virgets, investigated the allegations of corruption among senior staff,
judges and referees. All 36 Rio boxing referees and judges were suspended during the investigation. This
investigation reported evidence of an internal “bad culture driven by power, fear and lack of transparency”.

7Despite concluding that no result from the Olympic Games Rio 2016 needed to be reviewed, the AIBA
SIC recommended that in the future, in order to ensure greater transparency, the draw of the referees andjudges for each bout should be computer generated and no longer conducted by the Draw Commission.
During the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the Chair of the Draw Commission was Mr Mohamad Moustahsane.

3.2.5. Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 (YOG)
Due to the ongoing concern, the IOC required independent oversight of the refereeing and judging
processes at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 and appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to:i.

Review the AIBA refereeing and judging selection and evaluation processes; andii.

Assess whether the relevant statutes and regulations were followed during the YOG boxingcompetitions.

The new refereeing and judging system in place included the development of a computerised draw system
for appointing referees and judges to a bout. However, despite the automated system, an apparent
incident occurred when Swiss Timing received at the last-minute additional option settings for the systembased draw, causing the automated draw system to fail and subsequently forcing the Draw Commissioner
to manually select referees and judges. All this ultimately made again the system more vulnerable.
As a general conclusion on refereeing and judging, the IOC Inquiry Committee notes that AIBA has
experienced consistent allegations related to refereeing and judging processes and decisions, which havecaused long standing and ongoing concern for athletes. These allegations show that AIBA was unable toestablish an effective firewall between the professional judges and referees on one hand and the AIBA
political leadership and management on the other hand; thereby represented a significant risk for the IOC
and the Olympic Movement.

Incapacity to renew the AIBA management team, in particular regarding theinfluence over the refereeing and judging
Given the recurrent issues over the past years, the IOC Executive Board requested in December 2017that AIBA renews its executive level positions. The IOC Inquiry Committee notices that so far this does
not seem to have happened as explained below.
Mr Ho Kim, former Executive Director during the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 and London 2012,
continues to provide regular information to the IOC regarding the management of AIBA. The opacity of
the relationship between AIBA and this former Executive Director appears to be confirmed by the AIBA
expenses 2018, which include consultancy fee payments to Mr Ho Kim; Deloitte was not able to ascertain
the basis of such payments.
Mr Karim Bouzidi, former Executive Director during the Olympic Games Rio 2016, was present in various
occasions during AIBA events in 2018, in particular during the AIBA Congress in Moscow in November
2018. He has also been photographed discussing with the current Executive Director during the AIBAWorld Women Championships in New Delhi (press article Bulgaria Today 25 March 2019).
The AIBA Special Investigation Committee concluded that the manipulation of the referees and judges
draw during the Olympic Games Rio 2016 was the result of the interventions of different actors under themain responsibility of Mr Karim Bouzidi, one of them being the Chair of the Draw Commission,
Mr Mohamad Moustahsane. Mr Mohamad Moustahsane was also chair of the Draw Commission during
the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018. He has been designated as Interim President after
Mr Gafur Rahimov stepped aside.
Mr Tom Virgets, Chair of the then AIBA Special Investigation Committee on the Olympic Games Rio 2016,
and Chair of the Disciplinary Commission, became, after the designation of the first Interim President, thead-hoc Executive Director and was later confirmed in this position. In addition, he is still the Director, withindividual signature, of the World Series of Boxing SA, which is part of the agreements with First
Commitment International Trade Co. Ltd (FCIT), one of AIBA’s most important creditors. Mr Tom Virgets
was also Administrative President of Boxing Marketing Arm SA, which is now liquidated.

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Despite the controversies related to refereeing and judging reported throughout the years, both former
and active Chair of the AIBA Refereeing and Judging Commission still carry out critical roles in the AIBA
management: Mr Terry Smith, who was Chair of the AIBA Refereeing and Judging Commission between
2006 and 2014, is currently member of the AIBA Executive Committee and Chair of the newly createdCompliance Unit. Mr Osvaldo Bisbal, who was Chair of the AIBA Refereeing and Judging Commission
between 2015 and 2018, including the controversial tournament of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, hasbeen recently confirmed to lead the Refereeing and Judging Commission for another term.
Mr Mohamad Moustahsane, previously Chair of the Draw Commission during the Olympic Games Rio
2016, is now the Interim President.
Taking into consideration the above, the IOC Inquiry Committee notices the incapacity of AIBA toeffectively renew its leadership.

Over-indebtedness and impossibility to confirm going concern
For several years, AIBA had to deal with high debts and liquidity issues. Since 2017, several external
auditors retained by AIBA have highlighted their inability to confirm its going concern. Such a situation
seriously hinders AIBA’s ability to fulfil its roles and responsibilities as a recognised International
Federation.

3.4.1. Level of AIBA indebtedness
The K2 Intelligence Ltd report, produced in 2018 at the request of the AIBA management, concluded,
amongst other things, that the level of indebtedness was the result of a series of poor decisions directedby the former President and enacted by the successive Executive Directors; this led to AIBA investing in
projects that were substantial cash drains on the association.
As explained in Deloitte’s report, according to AIBA interim financial statements for the period ended 31
December 2018, the organisation has a cash balance of around CHF 663’000. This has decreased from
CHF 6.8 million as of 30 June 2017 and from CHF 1.8 million as of 30 June 2018 (AIBA website, report ofthe statutory auditor as at 30 June and 31 December 2018).
Deloitte’s report also underlined that, putting aside the AIBA competitions revenue and taking into accountthe AIBA level of cash in the bank as at 31 December 2018, AIBA may face significant difficulties incovering its 2019 cash requirements, as they seem higher than the level included in the cash flow forecast
for the 2019 budget.
The level of indebtedness also means that the funds received by AIBA from the IOC will necessarily need
to be used first and foremost to cover its excessive accumulated debts rather than for the benefit of thedevelopment of sport and the athletes. As of 31 December 2018, interim financial statements, total
liabilities amount to around CHF 22 million with assets at around CHF 5 million, therefore leaving a balance
sheet deficit or net liability of CHF 17 million.
Based on the information provided by AIBA and as noted by Deloitte, in addition to the accumulated
liabilities without Olympic funding, AIBA may be unable to close the FCIT settlement agreements
mentioned below. This means that the claim in respect of FCIT would also need to be included in full and
AIBA’s indebtedness would increase by a further CHF 19 million. By June 2021, the Benkons loan balance(see below) should be reduced to CHF 7 million, but with FCIT’s potential claim, AIBA’s total liability could
be in excess of CHF 26 million with an additional negative cash balance of CHF 3 million (based on AIBA’s
cashflow forecast and assuming no revenue in addition to that forecast). Based on these figures AIBA’s
indebtedness could reach a level of CHF 29 million by 30 June 2021.

3.4.2. Concerns regarding two AIBA settlement agreements
According to Deloitte’s report, since June 2018, the major changes to AIBA’s financial situation have been
new settlement agreements with their major debtors, Benkons LLC (“Benkons”) in Azerbaijan and with
FCIT in Hong Kong. Neither of these agreements provides a cash benefit to AIBA allowing an immediate
diminution of the debt, as explained below.

9AIBA was guarantor to a loan of USD 10 million provided by Benkons to a subsidiary of AIBA, WSB-AO.
No repayments were made on time and the loan repayment obligation was transferred to AIBA. In July
2018, AIBA and Benkons entered into a settlement agreement in relation to this debt. This settlementagreement waives all previous interests that had been accrued; it provides Benkons with sponsorshiprights for 2019 and 2020 for the value of a small part of the debt, while the repayment of the debt by AIBA
has been postponed until 2021 and should continue until 2028. It is not clear how these payments will befinanced in the long term. Should any breaches of this repayment plan occur, then the significant additional
interests become payable.
AIBA also entered into a settlement agreement with FCIT in 2018. This settlement agreement does notsubstantially change AIBA’s current financial situation, since it also provides no cash benefit to AIBA in
the short term. As a consequence of this settlement agreement, AIBA will transfer a majority of its sharesin the World Series of Boxing, the AIBA marketing subsidiary, to FCIT against a reduction of FCIT’s claim.
Simultaneously, AIBA will grant FCIT a licence for intellectual property rights and commercial rights
pertaining to AIBA competitions and activities for a long period of time.
Therefore, there remains significant uncertainty regarding the financing of the future payments provided
by the above-mentioned settlement. In addition, it is highlighted that the future AIBA marketing revenues
for the years to come will be transferred to a company owned in majority by FCIT, thus depriving AIBA of
any future independent revenue, in particular for its own activities provided by the Olympic Charter.
As a result, the IOC Inquiry Committee considers there remain several major risks for the IOC:

It is unclear how AIBA will be able to fulfil its roles and responsibilities according to the Olympic
Charter, which are primarily the development of sport and support to the athletes;the AIBA revenue, expected to be paid by the IOC from the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 revenue
and beyond, will first have to be used to cover the existing debts. Thus, AIBA will not be able touse the money from sport for its original purpose, which is the development of sport and the
support of the athletes;the IOC ultimately risks funding a financially unviable organisation that will remain at risk of failing;

the ongoing legal, reputational and financial risks linked to the designation of Mr Gafur Rahimovby the US Treasury; andthe lack of governance which will encourage AIBA to sell its assets for the long term and/or to belenient on verifying the sources of potential funding, as shown recently, and thus increasing thepotential governance risks.

Other element analysed
During the official meeting, AIBA raised a question about the role of Mr Ching-Kuo Wu.
The IOC Inquiry Committee notes the following:

the IOC Inquiry Committee’s mandate was not to look into the situation of individuals, but toassess AIBA’s governance;the IOC Inquiry Committee took note that the report by the AIBA SIC, chaired by the current AIBA
Executive Director, Mr Tom Virgets, does not contain any indication of the involvement of
Mr Ching-Kuo Wu; andthe IOC Inquiry Committee took note of the K2 Intelligence Ltd report, produced in 2018, did notprovide any evidence of illegal behaviour committed by Mr Ching-Kuo Wu.

Despite the elements listed above, the IOC Inquiry Committee suggests that the IOC Chief Ethics andCompliance Officer, who was involved in the present inquiry, evaluates any information made available
during this inquiry, related to Mr Ching-Kuo Wu.

10

4.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions
The IOC Inquiry Committee, having taken into consideration all the information provided by AIBA, as wellas its explanations provided during the official meeting held on 20 May 2019 in Lausanne, and the Deloitte
final report, comes to the following conclusions:

Serious governance issues remain, including breaches of the Olympic Charter and the IOC Codeof Ethics regarding good governance and ethics, leading to serious reputational, legal andfinancial risks for the IOC, the Olympic Movement and its stakeholders;

AIBA has been unable to demonstrate a sustainable and fair management of refereeing andjudging processes and decisions, increasing the lack of confidence that athletes can have in faircompetitions;

The election as AIBA President of a person designated on the US Treasury list exposes the IOC,
the Olympic Movement stakeholders and its partners, to unacceptable reputational, legal andfinancial risks; andThe continuous very high level of indebtedness and the lack of liquidity, as highlighted by Deloitte,
will oblige AIBA to primarily use any revenue, including from the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 andbeyond, to cover its existing debts. Thus, AIBA will not be able to use the money from sport forthe development of sport and the support of the athletes and might remain financially at risk of
insolvency.

Recommendations
Following the conclusions above, the IOC Inquiry Committee considers that such accumulation of risks
would justify the withdrawal of the recognition of AIBA as an International Federation by the IOC.
However, taking into consideration the interests of both the sport of boxing and the athletes, the IOC
Inquiry Committee wishes to make the following recommendations, which should allow a real change in
the governance of the sport of boxing:
The IOC Executive Board to propose to the IOC Session:
1. to suspend the IOC recognition of AIBA until sustainable improvements have been made in theareas of governance, ethics, refereeing and judging as well as financial stability and going
concern; and2. to allow, on an exceptional basis and given the specific circumstances, the IOC Executive Board
to develop a solution that allows the athletes of Olympic boxing to attend qualification events andthe Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Lausanne, 21 May 2019
The IOC Inquiry Committee on AIBA situation:

Nenad Lalovic, Chair

Richard Carrion

Emma Terho
11

List of appendices
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.

IOC letter to AIBA, 12 December 2017
IOC letter to AIBA, 8 February 2018
IOC letter to AIBA, 3 May 2018
IOC letter to AIBA, 20 July 2018
IOC letter to AIBA’s National Federations, 3 October 2018 and IOC Statement
IOC letter to AIBA 3 December 2018
Mr Umar Kremlev’s letter to the IOC, 28 March 201912

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Office of the Director General
Ref. No. 2018/CDK/ckml

By e-mail only

Mr. Tom Virgets
International Boxing Association(AIBA)
Maison du Sport International
Avenue du Rhodanie 54
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland

Lausanne, 3 May 2018
IOC Executive Board concerns regarding AIBA
Dear Mr. Virgets,Thank you very much for the report submitted by yourself on 25 April in response to the IOC
Executive Board’s (EB) request from 8 February. Even though many key deliverables are
ongoing, we appreciate receiving the response in accordance with our request. Equally, we
appreciate your open dialogue throughout this process with the IOC.
Your report was presented to and discussed at today’s IOC EB meeting in Lausanne.
After review of the documents provided by AIBA and ASOIF, the IOC Executive Board took
the following actions:i.

The IOC EB note the report provided by AIBA and the steps being taken to clarify
the financial position, address the governance issue and strengthen the refereeing
and judging structures and processes;ii.

The IOC EB note that there are a number of key areas requiring further informationand confirmation (including acting on the ASOIF Governance Task Forcerecommendations, completion of the “New Foundation Plan” (strategic plan),appointment of the AIBA Ethics Commission, finalisation of the EY financial audit
report and K2 financial investigation report, completion of the transition to theInternational Testing Agency and clarification on the full AIBA anti-doping
programme) as outlined in the attached required actions contained in annex to thisletter;iii.

The IOC EB maintains its position from December 2017 and February 2018 andexpresses its significant ongoing concern that until such actions are fully
implemented there remain major risks to the governance, ethical and financial
management of AIBA, and resulting impacts on the governance of the sport andprotection of its athletes;iv.

The IOC EB requires the further identified actions to be completed by 6 July 2018ahead of the 18-20 July 2018 IOC Executive Board meeting;v.

In order to protect the young athletes, the IOC EB confirmed the place of boxing on
the programme of the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018, subject to theappointment of an internationally-recognised organisation to implement an
independent structure to review the refereeing and judging processes and systems
in place for the boxing competitions; andChâteau de Vidy, 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland | Tel +41 21 621 6111 | Fax +41 21 621 6216 | www.olympic.org

vi.

The IOC reserves the right to review the inclusion of boxing on the programme of
the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

In addition to these decisions, the Executive Board also confirmed a further 17 revised
actions, which can be found in annex to this letter.
As we noted in December 2018 and February 2018, the appropriate steps in addressingthese issues over the next months are crucial and we want to support AIBA in taking theright steps in this period. The identified additional steps build on the report you have provided
and must be taken in a way which protects the integrity of the sport and the federation.
The next report is required to be delivered to the IOC Executive Board by 6 July 2018 toallow further consideration by the IOC Executive Board at its meeting on 18-20 July in
Lausanne. We also recommend that you continue to work closely with the IOC Chief Ethics
and Compliance Office for the governance investigation.
The IOC will support AIBA in taking these required steps. However, should the appropriate
requirements and actions not be fully implemented to the satisfaction of the IOC Executive
Board, then as mentioned above, the IOC reserves the right to review the inclusion of boxingon the programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
We thank you in advance for taking the necessary steps for the benefit of boxing and yourathletes.
Yours sincerely,

Christophe de Kepper
IOC Director Generalcc:
Francesco Ricci Bitti, ASOIF President
Kit McConnell, Sports Director

Ref. No. 2018/CDK/ckml

Page 2/2

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Annex 1 – Required AIBA actions by 6 July
Recommendations
Governance
1. On the basis of the ASOIF Governance Task Force 2018 report, to effectively implement
the contents of this report with a priority on transparency, integrity, democracy, check andbalances, amongst other items:• Publication of the General Assembly agenda and relevant documents, including
the list of candidates for elections, annual activity report etc.
• More transparency in the election process of the President and the Executive
Board• Set-up an integrity and awareness programme, including on the prevention of themanipulation of competitions• Improvement of gender balance in the governing bodies• More transparency in the process of allocation of resources by strengthening thefinancial controls
2. Completion of the “New Foundation Plan” and submission to ASOIF and the IOC forreview
Ethics
3. Appointment of an independent Chair of the AIBA Ethics Commission
4. Appointment of independent members of the Ethics Commission
5. Ensure that the Ethics Commission will analyse the specific situation of the interim
president vs US Treasury Department decision and possible legal appeals of this person
Management
6. Clarify the roles of the AIBA management including those appointed by previous IOC
Executive Directors
7. Continue the February 2018 Executive Board decision to freeze all contacts with AIBA,
except the ones on the working level which are necessary to implement the respective
IOC decisions.
Finance
8. Provide the finalized EY audit report (along with the supporting documents: financial
statements and cash flow forecast, financial year ended 30 June 2017 and June 2018 or
as minimum 8 months ended 28 February 2018, which forms integral part of the audit
reports)
9. Provide the finalized K2 investigation report
10. Implementation of the new control mechanisms (organisational policies and process)Page 1 of 2

11. Engage in a full and independent audit after implementation of the new control
mechanisms in order to demonstrate the result of the implementation
12. Continue the February 2018 IOC Executive Board decision to suspend any financial
payments to AIBA, including directly boxing-related payments scheduled by Olympic
Solidarity.
Sporting Integrity – Refereeing & Judging
13. Appoint an internationally-recognised organisation to monitor and review the refereeing
and judging processes and systems in place for the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires
2018, in consultation with ASOIF.
Sporting Integrity – Anti-doping and Manipulation of Competition
14. AIBA to complete the full transition to the ITA in June 2018
15. Confirm the details of the planned AIBA anti-doping programme including WADA analysis
of:•

Details of the confirmed AIBA anti-doping budget•

Details of the full anti-doping programme, including in-competition and out ofcompetition testing, full test distribution plan, results management, case prosecution,
TUEs and education programmes

16. Confirm WADA compliance related to the allocation of the World Championship to Russia
17. Nominate a point of contact for the IBIS programme, fully engage with the IBIS
programme and implement an integrity of competition education programme in liaison
with the IOC Ethics and Compliance Office.

Page 2 of 2

Appendix IV

Appendix V

🌄 IOC
DATE 03 OCT 2018

TAGS OLYMPIC NEWS, IOC NEWSSTATEMENT OF THE IOC EXECUTIVE BOARD
THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) TODAY EXPRESSEDITS ONGOING EXTREME CONCERN WITH THE GRAVE SITUATION WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL
BOXING ASSOCIATION (AIBA) AND ITS CURRENT GOVERNANCE. THESE INCLUDE THE
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ELECTION LIST AND THE MISLEADINGCOMMUNICATION WITHIN THE AIBA MEMBERSHIP REGARDING THE IOC’S POSITION.
Such behaviour is affecting not just the reputation of AIBA and boxing but of sport in general.

Therefore, the IOC reiterates its clear position that if the governance issues are not properly addressed to thesatisfaction of the IOC at the forthcoming AIBA Congress, the existence of boxing on the Olympic programme andeven the recognition of AIBA as an International Federation recognised by the IOC are under threat.

At the same time, we would like to reassure the athletes that the IOC will - as it has always done in such situations
and is currently doing at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 - do its upmost to ensure that the athletes
do not have to suffer under these circumstances and that we will protect their Olympic dream.

Spanish version

TAGS OLYMPIC NEWS , IOC NEWS© Copyright 2019. All rights reserved
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Appendix VI

Office of the Director General

Mr Tom Virgets
International Boxing Association(AIBA)
Maison du Sport International
Avenue du Rhodanie 54
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland

Tokyo, 3 December 2018
Ref. No. CDK/cnci
By e-mail only

IOC Executive Board concerns regarding AIBA
Dear Mr Virgets,Thank you very much for your progress report submitted on 12 November in response to the
IOC Executive Board’s request of 19 July. We appreciate your collaboration and dialogue
with the IOC throughout this process, which has been important in monitoring the ongoingdevelopments within AIBA over the last few months.
AIBA’s Progress Report was presented to and discussed at the IOC Executive Board
meeting in Tokyo. While acknowledging AIBA’s progress and its commitments highlighted
in this report, several points of significant concern remain in the areas of governance, ethics,
financial management and refereeing and judging.
The IOC Executive Board took also note of the outcomes of the AIBA Congress in Moscow
on 2-3 November 2018 and the election of the current AIBA President Gafur Rakhimov, who
has been designated in 2012 and 2017 by the US Treasury Department pursuant to
Executive Order (E.O.) 13581, which targets significant transnational criminal organizations
and their supporters. In this regard, the IOC Executive Board expressed its concern on how
this designation potentially affects AIBA and its President from fulfilling their responsibilities.
In view of the above points of major concern and pursuant to Bye-law 1 to Rule 59 (BLR
59.1) and Bye-law 2 to Rule 59 (BLR 59.2) of the Olympic Charter, the IOC Executive Board
decided to:i.

Initiate an inquiry regarding AIBA and, to that effect, delegate its authority – including
to organise a hearing of AIBA - to an ad-hoc Inquiry Committee with the remit to:a. analyse the AIBA Progress Report and the measures presented in it toaddress IOC’s major concerns regarding governance, ethics, financial
management and refereeing and judging;b. investigate and assess the areas of major concerns within AIBA, including
governance, ethical, financial management and refereeing and judging;c.

ii.

form a recommendation for the IOC Executive Board on potential measuresand sanctions in accordance with the Olympic Charter.

Maintain the previous decisions by the IOC Executive Board to:a. “freeze all contacts with AIBA, except the ones on the working level which
are necessary to implement the respective IOC decisions”;

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b. suspend any financial payments to AIBA, including directly boxing-related
payments scheduled by Olympic Solidarity, until:
i. “the IOC Executive Board has reviewed and confirmed being
satisfied with further proof of AIBA’s ability to continue as a going
concern (along with the supporting documents which form part of
the financial statements audits: cash flow projections);
ii. AIBA has engaged in a full and independent audit after
implementation of the new control mechanisms (organisational
policies and process) in order to demonstrate the result of theimplementation”
iii.

Adopt with immediate effect the following additional measures:a. freeze the planning for the Olympic Boxing tournament in Tokyo 2020,
including ticket sales, approval and implementation of a qualification
system, test event confirmation and planning and finalisation of thecompetition schedule;b. prohibit the use by AIBA of Olympic Properties, including the Olympic rings
and Tokyo 2020 logo for any communications/ advertising and/or
promotional materials;c.

lift the freezing of Olympic Solidarity funding of athletes, on the condition
that no funding can be applied for or paid through a national boxing
federation.

The composition of the Inquiry Committee was confirmed and announced as Mr Nenad
Lalovic (Chair), Mr Richard Carrion and Ms Emma Terho.
The IOC Executive Board confirmed its determination to protect the athletes and make all
efforts to ensure that a boxing tournament takes place at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
regardless of these measures.
I trust in your understanding of the IOC position and thank you in advance for cooperatingwith the Inquiry Committee over the coming months.
Yours sincerely,

Christophe de Kepper
Director Generalcc:
Nenad Lalovic, Inquiry Committee Chair
Francesco Ricci Bitti, ASOIF President President
Kit McConnell, IOC Sports Director

Error! Reference source not found.

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Appendix VII