Umar Kremlev

Umar Nazarovich Kremlev (Russian: Умар Назарович Кремлёв; born Lutfulloyev, 1 November 1982) is a Russian sports administrator, businessman and oligarch who has served as the president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) since 2020. An ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, he previously served as Secretary General of the Boxing Federation of Russia from 2017 to 2021. In 2022, IBA members voted against holding an election by 106 votes to 36, allowing Kremlev to remain IBA president. Under Kremlev's tenure as IBA head, he has heavily marketed himself, moved the body's operations to Russia, suspended Ukraine from competing, and made the Russian state‑owned energy giant Gazprom the IBA's sole sponsor. The IBA's relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) deteriorated under Kremlev's tenure. The IOC decertified the IBA and took control of the boxing competition from the IBA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, just as it had done at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The IOC stated that the IBA had failed to address concerns regarding governance, finance, and corruption. Since then, Kremlev has emerged as one of the key purveyors of Russian disinformation in international sports. Kremlev has stirred controversy by claiming, falsely and without evidence, that the female boxer Imane Khelif failed her gender test after she defeated a Russian boxer, and has allegedly referred to IOC president Thomas Bach as a "chief sodomite".