The world boxing championships began in Baku on Monday amid official fury at claims that multi-million dollar bribes were paid to ensure gold medals for Azerbaijani fighters at the 2012 Olympics.
The ex-Soviet state’s powerful emergency situations minister, who also heads Azerbaijan’s boxing federation, told local media on the eve of the tournament that the corruption allegations raised in a BBC television programme were lies.
“It is wrong to disseminate news based on false information to the international community and the people who organised it must be held responsible,” Kamaladdin Heydarov said.
An investigation by BBC’s Newsnight programme alleged that $9m was paid by an Azerbaijani national to organisers of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA)’s World Series of Boxing (WSB). The money was allegedly paid to secure gold medals for Azerbaijani fighters competing at next year’s Olympics. But Heydarov said that the claims could easily be disproved. AIBA president Wu Ching-Kuo has also rejected the allegations as “totally untrue and ludicrous” but confirmed that the organisation would launch an investigation. During the 2008 Games, several fighters complained of being cheated by judges. The world championships, the first Olympic qualifying event for boxing, are being seen as a major event in Azerbaijan, an energy-rich state seeking to boost its international profile.
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The ex-Soviet state’s powerful emergency situations minister, who also heads Azerbaijan’s boxing federation, told local media on the eve of the tournament that the corruption allegations raised in a BBC television programme were lies.
“It is wrong to disseminate news based on false information to the international community and the people who organised it must be held responsible,” Kamaladdin Heydarov said.
An investigation by BBC’s Newsnight programme alleged that $9m was paid by an Azerbaijani national to organisers of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA)’s World Series of Boxing (WSB). The money was allegedly paid to secure gold medals for Azerbaijani fighters competing at next year’s Olympics. But Heydarov said that the claims could easily be disproved. AIBA president Wu Ching-Kuo has also rejected the allegations as “totally untrue and ludicrous” but confirmed that the organisation would launch an investigation. During the 2008 Games, several fighters complained of being cheated by judges. The world championships, the first Olympic qualifying event for boxing, are being seen as a major event in Azerbaijan, an energy-rich state seeking to boost its international profile.
