The Boxing Independent Integrity Unit Interim Nomination Unit has cleared Umar Kremlev ©IBA

International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev has had three complaints made against him relating to alleged breaches of campaign rules dismissed by the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) Interim Nomination Unit.

The Nomination Unit had opened an investigation into allegations that actions had been taken by individuals, including at the IBA's head office in Lausanne, which favoured Russian official Kremlev before a potential election here.

IBA regulations require the IBA head office to "maintain neutrality at all times", with staff members permitted to have relations with candidates solely in line with their official job roles.

The complaints against Kremlev also centred on claims material was produced which harmed the image or reputation of another electoral candidate, with only Dutch official Boris van der Vorst running against him for the Presidency.

Under IBA regulations, candidates are also liable for the conduct of advisers, their entourage and other people with roles on their campaigns.

However, the BIIU Interim Nomination Unit said that it had opted to dismiss all charges against Kremlev "after a careful analysis of all documents and information available".

A previous Boxing Independent Integrity Unit Interim Nomination Unit decision to bar Boris van der Vorst from running for the IBA Presidency was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ©Getty Images
A previous Boxing Independent Integrity Unit Interim Nomination Unit decision to bar Boris van der Vorst from running for the IBA Presidency was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ©Getty Images

The electoral period in the build-up to the Extraordinary Congress in Armenia's capital Yerevan began on August 24, when Kremlev and van der Vorst were confirmed by the BIIU Interim Nomination Unit as the two candidates for the Presidential role.

Plans for the establishment of a BIIU were approved at the IBA Extraordinary Congress in December 2021, when the organisation's acronym was also changed from AIBA among a series of governance reforms.

The most notable intervention of the BIIU Interim Nomination Unit, which is chaired by Piermarco Zen-Ruffinen, since its inauguration was to rule van der Vorst ineligible to stand for the Presidential election at the Extraordinary Congress in Istanbul in May.

Van der Vorst successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and hence a Presidential election will be held on Sunday (September 25) in Yerevan, should the latest Extraordinary Congress first vote to hold one.

The heated nature of the electoral contest has again been evident through a series of strongly-worded letters from National Federations endorsing both Presidential candidates.