(ATR) Olympic boxing federation president C. K. Wu has launched a secret campaign to discredit the Moroccan member of the committee that is trying to take control of AIBA from Wu.
In an August 14 letter to the president of the Morocco Boxing Federation, Wu aims for character assassination against Mohamed Moustahsane, calling him "a disgrace to your federation".
"The behaviours of Mr. Moustahsane, now a part of the rebel group, has demonstrated his lack of decent respect to the noble sport of Boxing and violated AIBA Statutes, the Bylaws, and Code of Ethics. Instead of considering the bestinterests of boxers, coaches, R&J, and all stakeholders of AIBA, he is now wholly occupied with obtaining power should the coup succeed," writes Wu to Moroccan federation president Abdeljaouad Belhaj.
CC’d on the letter is Nawal El Moutwakel, IOC member in Morocco and an influential sports leader in her country.
Wu appears to hope his complaint to the two sports leaders will silence Moustahsane.
"The above-mentioned is for your awareness of the impact caused by Mr. Moustahsane, and I hope he can be prevented from further compromising the image of either your federation or AIBA," Wu writes to his IOC colleague and Belhaj.
Moutawakel has been asked for comment, but she has no known connection to the boxing furor other than as an IOC colleague of Wu who conveniently lives in Morocco.
Moustahsane is one of the five members of the Interim Management Committee formed last month in a revolt against Wu during a meeting of the AIBA Executive Committee in August. The IMC is calling for an Extraordinary Congress to hear a full accounting of the finances for the federation and then to cast a confidence vote on whether Wu should serve the final year of his term.
The IMC was formed after members of the AIBA Executive Committee discovered the federation faces bankruptcy over a $10 million loan made seven years ago. The Azerbaijan company that made the loan is demanding immediate repayment.
Wu claims that the loan is the responsibility of a previous federation executive director. But the leaders of the IMC maintain there is no evidence of that and are accusing Wu of covering up the precarious state of AIBA finances.
Wu’s secret attempt to discredit Moustahsane comes as a Swiss court will be asked August 17 to decide whether the IMC take over is legal. The IMC, headed by AIBA vice president Franco Falcinelli, contends the AIBA statutes permit such an emergency action.
Wu has been defiant in the face of the IMC takeover, refusing to comply with the orders handed down by the group.
Falcinelli has not let Wu’s Moroccan strategy go unanswered. A day after the letter from Wu, the IMC chairman sent a letter of his own to the Moroccan federation president. Falcinelli says that contrary to what Wu has said, Moustahsane is bringing credit to the sport of boxing.
"It is really sad to watch CK Wu’s falling with his own lies and with his manipulation of the truth for his own protection. We, all members of the Executive Committee, have been extremely proud of Mr Mohamed Moustahsane’s courage to lead out voices for the justice serving in AIBA and our beloved sport.
"He did not yield his belief by any threat given by CK Wu before and now. He has courageously defended the country of Morocco and boxing development in your country when CK Wu started criticizing that "Morocco has done nothing for boxing!" at the Executive Committee meeting in Moscow.
"You should be really proud of Mr Moustahsane and give your best support to him for having defended the boxing development in your country and your National Federation in AIBA," writes Falcinelli.
Along with the letter to the Morocco Federation chief, Falcinelli also provides a transcript of more than 200 pages from the stormy Moscow BC meeting.
The transcript, which has been initially reviewed by Around the Rings, documents a dysfunctional board room relationship across nearly 12 hours of meetings over two days.
The transcript reveals a confusing explanation of the financial matters that threaten the Federation. Tensions run high in the dialogue captured in the transcript with Wu appearing to face unanimous opposition among the 16 EC delegates.
But perhaps most alarming are the worries from organizers of the 2017 AIBA World Championships in Hamburg. In their report to the EC, organizers expressed their concerns about the impact this leadership crisis was having on the event.
Those championships are now just over 10 days away.
Reported by Ed Hula.