ATR First: Fired Executive Attacks, Olympic Boxing Federation Denies Siege

(ATR) Leaders of the international boxing federation AIBA meet Monday in Moscow, rejecting reports that financial doom could be ahead.

And for the first time since he was fired more than two years ago, former AIBA executive director Ho Kim is publicly lashing out at President C.K. Wu. Kim blames Wu for the difficulties the Federation now faces.

"I feel now very embarrassed to have worked for almost nine years under this person and would like to apologize to the world boxing family for having helped him to become the AIBA President," Kim tells Around the Rings in a statement.

Kim sent the statement after reports July 21 in the New York Times and Guardian newspapers said that two lenders are seeking repayment for $30 million, a sum that could bankrupt the federation.

Azerbaijan company Benkons says it is owed $10 million for a loan from 2010. That money was to bolster the sagging World Series of Boxing Americas, a venture AIBA launched in 2009. Benkons says the loan was due in 2013.

AIBA executive director William Louis-Marie disputes the account of the newspapers, telling Around the Rings that AIBA was surprised to see the reports. Louis-Marie says AIBA has never received any demands from Benkons, the Azeri firm. He insists that terms had been reached with Benkons for repayment and says that a July 17 letter demanding repayment will be challenged in Swiss court.

But Louis-Marie says it is Ho Kim to blame for the loan, charging that he negotiated the $10 million deal on his own.

"Mr. Ho Kim acted autonomously in the establishment of WSB America Operations Ltd and was the sole Board member of said company, which completely managed the World Series of Boxing in the United States and Mexico resulting in huge debts AIBA current senior management has inherited," says the statement from AIBA.

"In his nine years as Executive Director, Mr Ho Kim had full operational control of AIBA and his subsequent mis-management, which now AIBA finds itself responsible and has sought to rectify," says AIBA.

Ho Kim, in a written statement, rejects the AIBA claims.

"All these comments are completely wrong and absolute lies. I was only the person who accompanied the AIBA President, Ching-Kuo Wu, to Baku to make this deal. Who in the world would be stupid enough to believe that any company would loan USD 10 million just because I, as AIBA Executive Director, would asked for it and this without the AIBA President being involved in the deal?

"It is correct to state that I did sign the agreement but this because the AIBA President, Ching-Kuo Wu, asked me to countersign it as the Director of WSB AO SA; however, he also signed it at the same time both as the Chairman of WSB SA and the AIBA President. From the beginning to the end of the loan negotiations, I only just followed all instructions given to me by the AIBA President, Ching-Kuo Wu," writes Kim.

"It is totally wrong to question why the company Benkons has never claimed that repayment until now since 2013. The AIBA spokesman must have been completely wrongly informed by the AIBA President, Ching-Kuo Wu. The latter was asked by the investor from the company Benkons for this repayment each time he visited Baku and at any occasion he went to meet with officials from Azerbaijan. He also instructed me to visit Baku and meet with the investor many times to delay this repayment, this until AIBA founds any mean to pay back the loan. I did so fromearly 2013 until I was forced to leave AIBA in June 2015," says Kim.

The second financial issue facing AIBA is a $20 million investment by Chinese businessman Di Wu, no relation to the AIBA president. The money, part of what was to be a $35 million deal, was to finance the Boxing Marketing Arm, established to promote AIBA’s venture. The money was coming from FCIT, a company owned by Wu. This deal, it should be noted, was consummated well after Kim had been fired as Executive Director.

But the relationship with Di Wu has soured, with BMA now bankrupt. Wu, named an AIBA vp after his initial $19 million investment as well as a member of the BMA board of directors, has now been removed from his AIBA vice presidency. In a June 19 letter written to members of the Executive Committee seen by ATR, Wu cries foul.

"I never expected to face this current situation and it should have been the worst business management which I could never imagine. The reality turns out to be far away from what the President Wu committed," says the letter.

"As you may be aware, I met AIBA President and Executive Director in Hong Kong onthe 6th and 7th this month, still trying my best to find a solution for the dispute. I once believed that AIBA leadership was also willing to find a way for settlement and cooperation, however, they sent a letter on the 13th to suspend my position as Vice President in EC.

"I don’t understand at all and I think it is a huge disrespect and a betrayal to our ongoing negotiations, which results in my fundamental doubt on the sincerity of AIBA. Therefore, I decide to take legal actions to investigate in AIBA’s violations, to protect my rights and to demand my 19 million CHF payment to AIBA back to me," says Di Wu’s letter.

As in the case of the loan from Azerbaijan, Louis-Marie insists that no crisis exists for AIBA over the investment from Wu.

"Regarding the comments by Mr Di Wu, the BMA financial crisis, results from several factors and all strategic decisions were approved by all BMA Board members including Mr. Di Wu," says Louis-Marie.

"The FCIT loan against BMA is subordinated to all un-subordinated debt of BMA and asserts that, in case of bankruptcy, the loan is waived to the extent the liquidation proceeds are not sufficient to repay it. We are confident of the validity of the document as discussed with our lawyers and auditors," says his statement.

The newspaper reports say that financial records indicate that with no more than 9 million euros in the bank at best in any month during the past year, the demands for repayment could bankrupt AIBA.

Questions are also being raised about the departure of the finance director and treasurer of AIBA and the dismissal from the Executive Committee of Welsh boxing leader Terry Smith.

Whether any of this will be covered at the AIBA Executive Committee meeting in Moscow is not known. Requests for details about the meeting have not been answered yet.

And in his comments to ATR, Louis-Marie warns that the Federation will not stand by if confidential documents are exposed in the press.

"To conclude, we would like to emphasize that the information and documents several media refer to are confidential information, been provided without our permission and in breach of confidential obligations. AIBA will take all legal appropriate measures in this regard in order to protect its interest," he says.

Written by Ed Hula.

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.