The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has handed down a 15-year suspension to former Olympic figure Sheikh Ahmad of Kuwait following the confirmation of his forgery conviction by a Swiss criminal appeals court earlier this year. The decision was approved by the IOC's executive board and is set to be officially announced next week.
Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah's suspension is a result of what the IOC deemed as a breach of his Member's oath and the significant harm caused to the organization's reputation. This penalty comes on the heels of a separate three-year ban for unethical conduct in an Olympic Council of Asia election, which was imposed in July last year.
The 61-year-old sheikh, who is a former leader of the Olympic Council of Asia and has been an IOC member since 1992, voluntarily suspended himself from his IOC duties after being indicted in Geneva in 2018. He also stepped down from his role as head of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).
In a recent legal development, Sheikh Ahmad's conviction for orchestrating a sham arbitration case was upheld by the Swiss court earlier this year. The court modified his prison sentence to a two-year suspended term, deferred for a probationary period of three years.
Notably, Sheikh Ahmad had previously presented video evidence to Kuwaiti authorities in 2013, implicating two high-profile figures in discussions about a coup. This led to a criminal complaint being filed in Geneva related to the fake arbitration case that was used to support the video evidence.
Sheikh Ahmad's legal troubles extend beyond the forgery conviction, as he was also linked to a bribery scandal during his tenure as a senior FIFA official from 2015 to 2017. Despite withdrawing his candidacy for re-election amid allegations of steering bribes to soccer officials in Asia, he was not indicted in that case.
With his latest suspension lasting until he is 74 years old, Sheikh Ahmad's future within the Olympic movement remains uncertain. The IOC's decision underscores its commitment to upholding ethical standards and preserving the integrity of the Olympic Games.
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