Former AIBA executive director Ho Kim will no longer be involved in anything to do with the governing body ©AIBA

Former International Boxing Association (AIBA) executive director Ho Kim, who had been helping Serik Konakbayev in his campaign to become the new President, has reached a settlement in a Swiss court that means he will no longer be involved in the world governing body, it was revealed here today. 

The AIBA Executive Council had recommended earlier this month that Kim be banned for life, along with former President C K Wu, but that will now be withdrawn in return for him not interfering in the organisation's affairs. 

Kim had been fired as AIBA executive director in June 2015 by Wu after nine years in charge for unspecified reasons.

Wu later claimed that the South Korean had been behind negotiating a loan with a company from Azerbaijan to fund the launch of a World Series of Boxing franchise in the United States.

A study undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2016 could not account for a almost half of a $10 million (£8 million/€9 million) loan allocated by the Baku-based Benkons MMC conglomerate.

The money allegedly owed to the Azeri company was later one of the main issues used to force Wu out of office as AIBA President last November.

It is widely believed that Kim played a crucial behind-the-scenes role in the campaign to unseat Wu.

Former AIBA executive director Ho Kim had been a key figure in the campaign to get Serik Konakbayev elected as President of the world governing body ©ASBC
Former AIBA executive director Ho Kim had been a key figure in the campaign to get Serik Konakbayev elected as President of the world governing body ©ASBC

Italy's Franco Falcinelli assumed the role of Interim President but, surprisingly, stood down at an Extraordinary AIBA Congress in January to make way for Gafur Rakhimov, described as "one of Uzbekistan's leading criminals".

Rakhimov's potential election as permanent President of AIBA has led the International Olympic Committee to warn that boxing could be dropped from the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020.

Konakbayev had announced last month he would stand against Rakhimov and Kim had been closely involved in his campaign. 

Now, however, he has been forced to step down and will no longer play any role in the Kazakh's team after he was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to stand in the election at the AIBA Congress on Friday and Saturday (November 2 and 3) at the Radisson Royal Hotel in the Russian capital. 

"Following a court hearing on 26 October 2018, AIBA and Mr. Ho Kim reached an agreement that Ho Kim shall not be involved in any AIBA Activity," a statement released this evening following the opening day of the AIBA Executive Committee.

"Neither party shall make any further comment."