Lausanne: The International Boxing Association (AIBA) today announced that it has paid in full its outstanding $10 million USD debt to Benkons LLC, the Azerbaijani company. It was the main loan for the organization and the one that had been at the heart of a period of monetary instability. The loan had been part of the World Series of Boxing which was an unsuccessful venture.

The settlement of the loan sees the fulfillment of an election promise by AIBA President Umar Kremlev to bring back financial stability in the International Federation. It is accompanied by a $7 million round of development funding which will see grants issued to National Federations (NFs) and regional Confederations.

“Financial issues have hung over the leadership of the sport I love for too many years. They have even threatened our Olympic future” said President Kremlev. “Closing the debt is a core achievement for our financial health and future Olympic prospects. I am very happy that we have been able to resolve this and ensure stability for AIBA. Boxing is a sport with a rich history, a strong present and an ambitious future. It deserves effective leadership.”

AIBA, during the term of former President Ching-Kuo Wu, became guarantor to the loan of $10 million USD provided by Benkons. The resulting debt was recognized by the IOC as a major reason for suspending payments to AIBA in 2017 followed by the complete suspension of AIBA. The Association hopes its settlement and the resulting stability will now prove to be a major step towards resolving the concerns of IOC.

Meanwhile, the association has also launched the AIBA Financial Support Programme in order to provide development and equipment resources for the work of its NFs and Confederations. It will distribute $2 million USD for NFs every year. In addition to this, boxing equipment will be provided to nations for $2.5 million USD total. All five of the AIBA Confederations will get £500,000 USD each per year. AIBA recently also secured significant sponsorship from Gazprom, as part of its work to ensure financial stability.

AIBA is also making use of its new-found economic stability as a means for attaining progress in governance reform and sporting integrity.