Gafur Rakhimov

Gafur Rakhimov (Russian: Гафур-Арсланбек Ахмедович Рахи́мов) (born July 22, 1951) is an Uzbek businessman and sports administrator who is the President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).[1] He has been Vice President of AIBA since 1998.[2]

Rakhimov was born July 22, 1951 in Tashkent.[3] He took up boxing as a youth and later moved on to coaching. After Uzbekistan's independence in 1991, he set up several commercial enterprises, which included trading in both raw materials and finished consumer goods. In March 1991, he founded Agroplus, an export-import company, and was in charge of it from 1991 to 1993. He also became a prominent figure in Central Asian boxing. In 2001 and 2005 he was elected Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan.[4][5]

On 25 May 1998, Yuri Shchekochikhin accused Rakhimov along with KGB Major General Evgeny G. Khokholkov, who headed URPO in the FSB, and Salim Abduvaliev of very unusual activities.[6][7][8]

According to Alexander Litvinenko, Rakhimov is closely associated with a Vladimir Putin organized narcotics trafficking network that is close to both the Tambov Russian mafia and Evgeny Khokholkov with heroin from Afghanistan and cocaine from Colombia through St. Petersburg to Europe.[9][10] Robert Eringer confirmed this.[11]

On 23 February 2012, the US Department of the Treasury put financial sanctions on Rakhimov and several other individuals, accused of being part of the so-called Brothers' Circle criminal organization.[12][13][14][15][16] Nevertheless, Rakhimov has never been charged with any crime in any country.[17] He has won defamation suits at the high courts in Britain, Australia and France.[18]