International Amateur Boxing Association asks BBC to show evidence for corruption claims
The BBC has recently been asked formally by the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) to provide evidence about the allegations that it has made concerning the provision of gold medals to Azerbaijan in the London 2012 Olympics. According to the
BBC, a deal was struck in which $ 9 million was to be handed over for gold medals.
The first time that the BBC went public with the allegations was on September 23rd during the Newsnight programme broadcast.
The allegations were strongly opposed by the AIBA as they directly stated that the recipients of the money were the World Series Boxing, a competition that comes under AIBA.
The following comments were made by AIBA regarding the issue: "The Committee Chairman has written to the BBC to formally request that it assist the Committee in its investigation by providing all evidence relied upon by the BBC in support of its allegations.
The Committee will hold its first meeting on 6 October. For the time being, and until the Committee has conducted its full investigation, AIBA will not be in a position to make any further communications regarding these allegations.”
After the initial allegations made by the BBC, other inconsistencies have come to light. For example it has been reported that five boxers from Azerbaijan were given seeds that they were not qualified for as their rankings in the world championships were
lower than their seeds.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as the AIBA has initiated individual investigations regarding the issue.
The issues have come at a crucial time for Azerbaijan. The country is was wrapping up hosting preparations for the World Amateur Championship that has now started in the city of Baku.
There has been some speculation that the allegations have not been made in good faith and it may well be that they have no solid grounds. Some find the allegations reminiscent of the time when the BBC started its Panorama investigation into the matters of
FIFA. At that time, the issue under investigation was corruption in FIFA that had a bad effect on England’s chances to bid for the 2018 World Cup.
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