Internal boxing probe rejects BBC 'fix' claim
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The integrity of Olympic boxing's governing body has been upheld by its inquiry into allegations of a bribery plot, according to the organization's president on Tuesday.
AIBA head Wu Ching-Kuo said "the air has been cleared" after the body's own investigative panel dismissed accusations in a BBC program that Azerbaijan paid bribes to try to secure two boxing gold medals at next year's London Games.
"We welcome the findings of this important process, and are pleased that our procedures and our integrity have stood up to the scrutiny of an independent inquiry," Wu said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The BBC said it stood by its report and would cooperate with a separate ongoing investigation by the International Olympic Committee's ethics commission.
The British program cited anonymous sources as saying Azerbaijan paid $9 million toward AIBA's World Series of Boxing competition in return for two guaranteed Olympic titles.
An AIBA-appointed inquiry team, comprising its legal counsel and four members of its disciplinary and ethics commissions, reported Monday that the allegations were "groundless and unsupported by any credible evidence."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wu delivered the inquiry report to IOC president Jacques Rogge before issuing a statement.
"We are pleased that after a lengthy investigation, the full facts have emerged and the air has been cleared," said Wu, who is an IOC member.
The IOC said it had taken note of AIBA's report and "will now look at its findings."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The BBC alleged that WSB chief operating officer Ivan Khodabakhsh promised gold medals to Azerbaijan in return for the payment.
However, the inquiry panel said it established that a single private investor from Azerbaijan, Hamid Hamidov, made a "purely commercial investment" to support the establishment and creation of four U.S. boxing franchises for the WSB series.
Wu said he had "full confidence" in Khodabakhsh, who was "fully exonerated" of any wrongdoing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}AIBA's investigation found that the governing body had "appropriate safeguards in place" to guard against any attempts to fix results at the Olympics.
It said the BBC had relied on hearsay to reach its conclusions.
The BBC said it expected AIBA would be "making all the evidence they reviewed public."