Boxing Official Accused of Attempting to Fix 2012 Olympics

A probe is being launched into a claim originating from the BBC that a World Series of Boxing official accepted a bribe to fix boxing in the 2012 Olympics in London, which would result in two gold medals for Azerbaijan. From ESPN UK:

The BBC's Newsnight programme claimed that, according to whistleblowers, the head of World Series Boxing (WSB) had accepted $9 million (£5.9m) in return for two golds.

The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), which launched the World Series and organises boxing at the Olympics, admitted receiving the money from an Azeri national, but said it was for investment in American franchises.

Lawyers for AIBA told the BBC that any suggestion the money was for medal-fixing was "preposterous and utterly untrue".

The IOC will also join in the probe:

"Mr Khodabakhsh has confirmed to AIBA that he will co-operate fully and freely with the AIBA Special Investigation Committee. The AIBA Special Investigation Committee will start its work by asking the BBC to send them all the material on which they relied for the purposes of their programme, and they note that the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, has also called for this, which they welcome. The Chairman, Mr Tom Virgets, will immediately convene the first investigatory meeting at the AIBA World Boxing Championships currently being held in Baku."

This could be quite a scandal if true, and would put an early damper on the 2012 games overall, let alone just the boxing portion.