A special investigation committee appointed by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) has dismissed allegations Azerbaijan were promised two boxing gold medals at next year’s London Olympics in exchange for a $10 million loan to amateur boxing’s world governing body.
The allegations, broadcast by the BBC’s Newsnight current affairs programme on September 23, were found to be “groundless and unsupported by any credible evidence”.
However, the BBC stood by their story and said they’d co-operate with an independent investigation by the International Olympic Committee’s Ethics Commission.
The special investigation committee’s statement Monday added: “We have conducted an exhaustive investigation over the past two months and we have concluded that the allegations…were completely without merit.”
The committee accepted an investment was made by Hamid Hamidov, an Azeri businessman, but said it was purely for “commercial purposes” and “the subject of medals had never come up in any discussions or agreements”.
It also exonerated AIBA’s World Series of Boxing’s chief operating officer, Ivan Khodabakhsh — anotheri Azeri challenged by the BBC — of wrongdoing.
But a BBC statement said: “Newsnight is aware of AIBA’s position and we stand by our investigation.
“While we anticipate AIBA making all the evidence they reviewed public, we are continuing to co-operate with the ongoing independent investigation by the International Olympic Committee Ethics Commission.”
Olympic boxing has long battled allegations of corruption and questions over its scoring system.
During the 2008 Beijing Games, several fighters complained of being cheated by judges.