The suspended leader of amateur boxing’s governing body, Aiba, has announced he is stepping down amid allegations of financial mismanagement but remarkably will be named as the organisation’s honorary president.
Wu Ching-kuo’s resignation follows a divisive 11-year reign, characterised by a bitter power struggle in recent times. Last month Aiba’s disciplinary commission voted unanimously to suspend the 70-year-old. He was alleged to have accumulated debt of 15m Swiss francs for the organisation through poor financial management and auditing. He was also accused of trying to depose the members of the executive committee who challenged his leadership.
Bizarrely, the investigation into these claims appears to have been quietly dropped. A joint statement between Wu and the Swiss-based organisation said: “They have amicably agreed to resolve the management issues within Aiba and to withdraw and terminate all related pending procedures before civil courts and Aiba disciplinary commission.”
Wu claimed he is stepping down from his post to “resolve the management issues” within the governing body. He will be replaced by Franco Falcinelli, Aiba’s senior vice-president. “I remain committed to ensure a smooth handover to the new leadership,” Wut said. Aiba will convene an extraordinary congress with its national member federations on 27 January in Dubai to consider proposed changes to its governance.
Wu was provisionally suspended by a disciplinary commission last month after a complaint from 11 Aiba executive committee members who alleged he had “violated and continues to violate various provisions of Aiba’s statutes and codes”.
Aiba has been riven with infighting for months, with Taiwan’s Wu pitted against most of the executive committee who failed to remove him through a vote of no confidence in July.
