International Boxing Association (AIBA) president Wu Ching-kuo of Taiwan on Wednesday said that a New York Times report on alleged financial irregularities in his organization was inaccurate and was probably linked to a staff member who was fired and might be seeking revenge.
According to the report published on Monday in the New York Times, AIBA has been unable to account for almost half of a US$10 million loan that was obtained in 2010 from a private company in Azerbaijan to help pay for a new boxing league in North America.
The matter was uncovered by investigators from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which was commissioned last year by Wu after he was pressured by Olympic officials to address possible financial problems in AIBA, the report said.
The loan was never paid back, the investigators could not account for how more than US$4.5 million of the money was spent, and AIBA could not say where the missing money went, according to the Times.
In fact, the investigative report “revealed irregularities so widespread that the auditors suggested the federation find a criminal lawyer,” the newspaper said.
Saying that it had recently obtained a full copy of the 39-page investigative report, the paper said it revealed “bookkeeping shortfalls and raises questions about the management of one of the most prominent Olympic sports.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, AIBA said the news story did not reflect the truth, because it did not include AIBA’s response to the New York Times’ questions about the matter.
“We responded prudently to the New York Times, but it failed to write an accurate or balanced report,” Wu said, adding that AIBA will consider the possibility of bringing a lawsuit against the newspaper.
The genesis of the audit dates to last year, when Wu fired his deputy, South Korean Ho Kim, after an internal revolt by AIBA staff members who were opposed Ho, the news report said.
In his statement, Wu said that he fired Kim in June last year based on a petition signed by 37 AIBA employees to oust him mainly because of his bad manners toward coworkers.
Wu said that the US$10 million loan in question was from a private company that is owned by Kim, and AIBA’s role in the transaction was merely that of a guarantor.
Wu said he commissioned an investigation by PricewaterhouseCoopers after Kim was fired and will take legal action if it is found that Kim was involved in irregularities.
The matter may have resulted from efforts by Kim to seek revenge against the federation, Wu said.
Wu also denied the US$10 million loan had coincided with an uptick in medals by Azerbaijani boxers at its world championships, as the newspaper reported.
He said the findings of an investigation into scoring procedures at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are expected to be released later this month, after 36 boxing judges and referees were suspended by AIBA for making a series of controversial decisions at the Games.
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