No bribe made according to AIBA - London Olympics
It has recently been revealed by the Special Investigation Committee that the claims made by the British Broadcasting Corporation in its report on Newsnight on the September 23rd regarding the paying of bribes by Azerbaijan in order to get gold
medals in boxing were baseless.
The report made by the BBC claimed that Azerbaijan had made a payment of a total of $US 9 million in order to secure two gold medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
In order to clarify the issue and reach a decision on the matter based on evidence, an investigation was carried out by the AIBA, which is boxing’s governing body. AIBA appointed a committee that consisted of five men who undertook the task of reaching the
core of the issue.
Tom Virgets, who is the chairman of the AIBA: "We have conducted an exhaustive investigation over the past two months, and we have concluded that the allegations made by BBC Newsnight in September that there was an investment by a government or any discussion
or effort to guarantee gold medals were completely without merit.”
According to the BBC, the bribes were made by an Azerbaijan businessman to the World Series of Boxing which is an international franchise competition. The WSB is also supported by the AIBA. However, the investigation headed by Virgets revealed no such connections
between the Azerbaijan businessman and the WSB. The investigation looked into documents, emails, financial statements as well as transactions in order to reach a sound conclusion on the matter. After examining all the evidence, Virgets submitted his report
to the AIBA headquarters that are situated in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Virgets also added that the investigative panel had asked for evidence from the BBC but all the proof that BBC could provide with was the transcripts of the broadcast in which the bribe allegations were made.
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