With the future of Olympic boxing in 2020 still in doubt, AIBA president Gafur Rahimov has stepped aside. AIBA, the international governing body that jeopardized Olympic boxing with its outrageous corruption, issued the following **cough** statement: "the AIBA Executive Committee would like to extend their great appreciation to President Rahimov for his commitment to the sport of boxing and for his efforts in helping to turn around the organization during his tenure.
"During the AIBA Executive Committee meeting several EC members nominated Mohamed Moustahsane to step in as Interim AIBA President. This nomination was accepted by Mr. Moustahsane. As per AIBA regulations, the AIBA Executive Committee will be requested to formally appoint him as Interim President by mail vote in the coming days. The process should be completed at the latest by the end of March to ensure that a smooth transition is made.
AIBA further received additional follow-up questions by the IOC ad-hoc inquiry committee last Friday afternoon, which will be answered by AIBA in due time. AIBA is however surprised that no further information was provided with regards to the hearing requested nor did a hearing with the IOC ad-hoc committee take place. Nonetheless, the AIBA EC is confident that this committee as well as the IOC Executive Board have enough information from AIBA to close the inquiry and move forward.
Finally, the interim audited accounts which closed on 31.12.2018 have now been published. Those accounts confirm the improvement in AIBA’s financial situation under President Rahimov’s mandate, notably that AIBA’s debt was reduced by almost USD 3,000,000 in the last six months due to the exercised discipline and fiscal policies implemented. The audit further confirms the reliability of AIBA’s projections presented early in 2019. While AIBA remains over-indebted due to mismanagement of the past, the 2018 accounts show that AIBA’s financial situation is viable and that any outstanding debt will be solved in the future, subject to its Olympic presence."
