Sheikh Steps Aside from IOC Roles

(ATR) Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah says he is stepping aside from all IOC roles, on the eve of his re-election to the global body of National Olympic Committees.

Over the last few days the press office associated with the Sheikh issued two statements regarding an ongoing court case in Switzerland.

In the first statement the Sheikh’s office said on Nov. 11 it is "fully aware of the legal action" taken against Ahmad in Switzerland, but deemed the case politically motivated. The statement said all legal actions taken were "politically motivated," from a dispute between Ahmad and his cousin Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah in Kuwait.

The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed the statement was indeed from Ahmad to Around the Rings but offered no additional comment. In the statement it said that the OCA Ethics Committee reviewed the legal action on Aug. 17 and cleared the Sheikh of wrongdoing. Sheikh Ahmad has been president of the OCA since 1991, and members of the body’s ethics committee are nominated by him and must be approved by the OCA Executive Board and General Assembly.

At the time of the statement the legal issue against Sheikh Ahmad was not known, and questions to his press office were not returned.

On Nov. 16 Swiss outlet Le Temps published details of a case of "false arbitration" against the Sheikh, which carries a punishment of two to 10 years in prison. The report said that Sheikh Ahmad and four other individuals had created a false legal trial in 2016 in order to legitimize a political dispute between him and Sheikh Nasser.

The dispute centered on pro-Ahmad videos circulating in Kuwait regarding the political dispute. The videos were denounced in Kuwait for being false, but Ahmad then reportedly ceded rights to them to a Delaware-based company. That company has since been discovered to be a shell company by Swiss authorities.

That company then sued in Geneva saying the videos were authentic, and a judge ruled in favor of the company, which now prosecutors allege was the "false arbitration".

In a second statement on Nov. 19 Sheikh Ahmad said he is stepping aside from his IOC roles as the case continues. Ahmad is chair of the IOC Solidarity Commission, which is in charge of distributing funds to the world’s NOCs.

"It is clear that the whole matter is based on allegations that are maliciously motivated by political factions within Kuwait since 2012 and the matter has already been reviewed and closed in Kuwait," the statement read. "Sheikh Ahmad has every confidence and trust in the Swiss Courts and IOC Ethics Commission’s impartial due process and that he will be completely exonerated.

"It should be remembered that Sheikh Ahmad has had the honor of being an IOC Member for 26 years and he fully intends to continue serving the IOC again at the earliest opportunity."

Ahmad is expected to travel to Tokyo for the 2018 ANOC General Assembly next week. He is the only candidate running for President of the organization. ATR understands that discussions are underway between the IOC and ANOC about the current situation.

""The IOC can confirm that the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer received a letter from Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah in line with the content of the official statement issued by his office this morning," an IOC spokesperson said in a statement.

ANOC’s own Ethics Commission will come into force on Dec. 1. The commission will be comprised of "independent" members, although one member of the ANOC Executive Board will sit on the body.

Last year, at the 2017 General Assembly ANOC unanimously supported a resolution that endorsed Sheikh Ahmad to continue as the leader of the group. Ahmad had been named as a "co-conspirator" in the ongoing FIFA investigations by the United States Department of Justice.

Although he has not been charged by the DOJ, Ahmad stepped down from his FIFA roles. He ducked all press at the 2017 General Assembly, and has not given a press conference at an ANOC General Assembly since before the 2015 event.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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