Gafur Rakhimov ( uz, G'ofur-Arslonbek Ahmedovich Rahimov) (born July 22, 1951) is an Uzbek businessman and sports administrator who was the President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) for 20 months until his resignation in July 2019.

Biography

Rakhimov was born July 22, 1951 in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

. He took up

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

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. On 25 May 1998,

Yuri Shchekochikhin Yuri Petrovich Shchekochikhin ( rus, Ю́рий Петро́вич Щекочи́хин, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɕːɪkɐˈtɕixʲɪn; 9 June 1950 – 3 July 2003) was a Soviet and later Russian investigative journalist, writer, and libe ...

accused Rakhimov along with KGB Major General Evgeny G. Khokholkov, who headed URPO in the FSB, and

Salim Abduvaliev Salim Abduvaliev (Uzbek: ''Салим Абдувалиев'', born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR in 1950) is a uzbek producer and Internet celebrity. In 2015, the producer was awarded the "Do’slik" State Prize of Uzbekistan and the "Ludwig Nobel Pri ...

of very unusual activities. According to

Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich "Sasha" Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) or 4 December 1962 – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised i ...

, both Rakhimov and Salim Abduvaliev are closely associated with a

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

organized narcotics trafficking network that is close to the Izmaylovskaya mafia (OPG) the

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna and ...

Russian mafia Russian organized crime or Russian mafia (, ), otherwise known as Bratva (), is a collective of various organized crime elements originating in the former Soviet Union. The initialism OPG is Organized Criminal (''prestupnaya'' in Russian) Gr ...

(OPG), Evgeny Khokholkov (russian: Евгений Хохольков), an Uzbek KGB who was head of FSB,

Vyacheslav Ivankov Vyacheslav Kirillovich Ivankov (russian: Вячесла́в Кири́ллович Иванько́в) (January 2, 1940 – October 9, 2009) was a Russian mafia boss and thief in law who was believed to have connections with Russian state intelli ...

(russian: Вячеслав Иваньков) ''Yaponchik'', who governed Uzbek networks in America, and

Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov Alimzhan Tursunovich Tokhtakhounov (russian: Алимжан Турсунович Тохтахунов; born 1 January 1949) is a Russian businessman, suspected criminal, and former sportsman. He is accused in relations with organized crime and br ...

(russian: Алимжан Тохтахунов) ''Taiwanchik'', who governed Uzbek networks in Europe, with heroin from

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

including

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and cocaine from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

through the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Sea Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

(russian: Морской порт Санкт-Петербург) to Europe.ref>Litvinenko, Alexande
Схема связей преступного мира, нарисованная Литвиненко
(Litvinenko's diagram of the connections of the underworld) Archived from the original on 23 January 2016.

Robert Eringer Robert Eringer (born October 5, 1954) is an American author, investigative journalist and private-sector counterintelligence operative. ''Salon magazine'' described Eringer as an "obscure journalist" with ties to Clair George, the former Deputy ...

confirmed this. On 23 February 2012, the

US Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

put financial sanctions on Rakhimov and several other individuals, accused of being part of the so-called

Brothers' Circle The Brothers' Circle or Bratski Krug ( rus, Братский круг) is a term used to refer to Russian organized crime, commonly the Russian mafia. It is a loose translation of the Russian term "Bratva" (Russian: Братва), which can also be ...

criminal organization. Nevertheless, Rakhimov has never been charged with any crime in any country. He has won defamation suits at the high courts in Britain, Australia and France.

References

Uzbekistani gangsters Businesspeople from Tashkent 1951 births Living people {{Uzbekistan-boxing-bio-stub