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WIKILEAKS: BOXING SCANDAL FIGURE TOOK BRIBES
By Nina Mandell
http://azerireport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3674&Ite mid=43
LONDON. August 4, 2012: The middleman in a boxing bribery scandal
that has cast a shadow on the London Olympics was described in 2010
by an American diplomat as an important and corrupt player in the
oil-rich country's government.
Immediately after an Azerbaijani boxer featured in one of the most
bizarre incidents of the Olympics, numerous media outlets noted that
Azerbaijan was accused in a 2011 BBC report of bribing international
boxing officials. The allegations of bribery stemmed from a $10 million
payment by Azerbaijani businessman Hamid Hamidov to the World Series
of Boxing, a money-bleeding U.S. league for lower-level fighters,
which is owned by the AIBA. The BBC's sources said the payment was
made in return for a promise to give two Azeri fighters golds in
Olympic boxing. Hamidov, Azerbaijani officials and AIBA officials
have repeatedly denied that the money was used in any way to influence
the outcome of boxing matches.
An AIBA investigation in December 2011 cleared the accused parties
of wrongdoing. In the AIBA's report, Azerbaijani official Kamaladdin
Heydarov is identified as a "translator" between Hamidov and World
Series Boxing. The BBC's report also mentioned Heydarov, saying he
was involved in communications between the World Series of Boxing's
chief operating officer and AIBA president Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu.
Yesterday, referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov of Turkmenistan was dismissed
by the AIBA after making a series of highly questionable calls in favor
of an Azerbaijani boxer who judges then gave a victory by decision -
a ruling that was soon reversed. Last night Reuters reported that an
Azerbaijani technical official, Aghajan Abiyev, was also booted by
AIBA for improperly contacting members of his delegation. (Officials
involved in judging and staging events aren't supposed to be in touch
with their countries' athletes and support staff.)
If the alleged 2011 bribe turns out to have been related to the
overturned decision, a 2010 cable between American officials published
by Wikileaks in 2011 indicates that this wouldn't be the first time
Heydarov was allegedly involved in such a situation.
According to the leaked memo, Heydarov is a minister in charge of
"Emergency Situations," his fiefdom described as "the ministry of
everything substantial." (Heydaraov's government website says he's
in charge of protecting his country from natural and man-made threats.)
"Some observers have said he might be even more powerful than the
President himself," the leaked cable read.
Those who upset him, according to the cable, have found themselves
in trouble: "Korean diplomats have confirmed that Heydarov was the
protector for several major business deals, but have complained that
many of these deals have gone awry after the Korean firms refused to
pay adequate patronage to Heydarov."
The 2011 World Boxing Championships, which served as Olympic
qualifiers, were held in Baku, Azerbaijan, which according to the
cables is where Heydarov's empire is based.
In the AIBA's subsequent investigation, headed by U.S. Naval Academy
athletic director Dr. Tom Virgets, Heydarov is described as a "an
Azerbaijan official who had helped to make the introduction to the
private sector investor and assisted with translation."
Arguing that the BBC report relied on unreliable witnesses, the AIBA
concluded there was no reason to believe that the Azeri government
had tried to bribe the boxing federation for medals.
"We have conducted an exhaustive investigation over the past two
months, and we have concluded that the allegations made by BBC
Newsnight in September that there was an investment by a government
or any discussion or effort to guarantee gold medals were completely
without merit," the group said in the report.
The AIBA did not immediately return requests from BuzzFeed for comment
(BuzzFeed).
Also see: This Wikileaks Cable About The Azerbaijan
Boxing-Scandal Guy Is A Work Of Central Asian Genius
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ninamandell/wikileaks-doc-boxing-scandal-figure-took-bribes
From: Baghdasarian
By Nina Mandell
http://azerireport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3674&Ite mid=43
LONDON. August 4, 2012: The middleman in a boxing bribery scandal
that has cast a shadow on the London Olympics was described in 2010
by an American diplomat as an important and corrupt player in the
oil-rich country's government.
Immediately after an Azerbaijani boxer featured in one of the most
bizarre incidents of the Olympics, numerous media outlets noted that
Azerbaijan was accused in a 2011 BBC report of bribing international
boxing officials. The allegations of bribery stemmed from a $10 million
payment by Azerbaijani businessman Hamid Hamidov to the World Series
of Boxing, a money-bleeding U.S. league for lower-level fighters,
which is owned by the AIBA. The BBC's sources said the payment was
made in return for a promise to give two Azeri fighters golds in
Olympic boxing. Hamidov, Azerbaijani officials and AIBA officials
have repeatedly denied that the money was used in any way to influence
the outcome of boxing matches.
An AIBA investigation in December 2011 cleared the accused parties
of wrongdoing. In the AIBA's report, Azerbaijani official Kamaladdin
Heydarov is identified as a "translator" between Hamidov and World
Series Boxing. The BBC's report also mentioned Heydarov, saying he
was involved in communications between the World Series of Boxing's
chief operating officer and AIBA president Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu.
Yesterday, referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov of Turkmenistan was dismissed
by the AIBA after making a series of highly questionable calls in favor
of an Azerbaijani boxer who judges then gave a victory by decision -
a ruling that was soon reversed. Last night Reuters reported that an
Azerbaijani technical official, Aghajan Abiyev, was also booted by
AIBA for improperly contacting members of his delegation. (Officials
involved in judging and staging events aren't supposed to be in touch
with their countries' athletes and support staff.)
If the alleged 2011 bribe turns out to have been related to the
overturned decision, a 2010 cable between American officials published
by Wikileaks in 2011 indicates that this wouldn't be the first time
Heydarov was allegedly involved in such a situation.
According to the leaked memo, Heydarov is a minister in charge of
"Emergency Situations," his fiefdom described as "the ministry of
everything substantial." (Heydaraov's government website says he's
in charge of protecting his country from natural and man-made threats.)
"Some observers have said he might be even more powerful than the
President himself," the leaked cable read.
Those who upset him, according to the cable, have found themselves
in trouble: "Korean diplomats have confirmed that Heydarov was the
protector for several major business deals, but have complained that
many of these deals have gone awry after the Korean firms refused to
pay adequate patronage to Heydarov."
The 2011 World Boxing Championships, which served as Olympic
qualifiers, were held in Baku, Azerbaijan, which according to the
cables is where Heydarov's empire is based.
In the AIBA's subsequent investigation, headed by U.S. Naval Academy
athletic director Dr. Tom Virgets, Heydarov is described as a "an
Azerbaijan official who had helped to make the introduction to the
private sector investor and assisted with translation."
Arguing that the BBC report relied on unreliable witnesses, the AIBA
concluded there was no reason to believe that the Azeri government
had tried to bribe the boxing federation for medals.
"We have conducted an exhaustive investigation over the past two
months, and we have concluded that the allegations made by BBC
Newsnight in September that there was an investment by a government
or any discussion or effort to guarantee gold medals were completely
without merit," the group said in the report.
The AIBA did not immediately return requests from BuzzFeed for comment
(BuzzFeed).
Also see: This Wikileaks Cable About The Azerbaijan
Boxing-Scandal Guy Is A Work Of Central Asian Genius
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ninamandell/wikileaks-doc-boxing-scandal-figure-took-bribes
From: Baghdasarian