The ABF’s President Carlos Luis Gonçalves and interim secretary general Agostinho Cassequele have both been charged under Article 34 (Forgery and Falsification) of the IBA Disciplinary and Ethics Code by the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) Tribunal.

They are accused of being behind a statement criticising the BIIU Nomination Unit after they published a list of candidates cleared to stand in the election to choose a new African Boxing Confederation (AFBC) President at a vote due to take place in Durban on October 13.

"The Accused Parties are informed that the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit’s Tribunal has received from the Legal Counsel of the International Boxing Association on 02 October 2023 a complaint about the Accused Parties’ issuance of a letter sent to IBA on behalf of Federacao Angolana de Boxe and 29 other National Federation members of the AFBC, entitled ‘Statement on the Vote of No Confidence on IBA BIIU Nomination Unit’ without the consent of some of these national federations," the proceedings issued by the BIIU, which insidethegames has a copy of, said.

The document is signed by Malek Badri, chairman of the BIIU Tribunal.

The Tunisian is head of the media, entertainment and sports department at Dentons Zaanouni Law Firm & Associates and a mediator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and FIFA’s Football Tribunal.

"Subsequent to the abovementioned complaint, the BIIU Tribunal’s Chairperson is hereby formally opening disciplinary proceedings against the Accused Parties (and any person bound by the IBA Disciplinary and Ethics Code revealed in the course of the investigation) based on Art. 9.1 of the BIIU Procedural Rules," Badri wrote.

Badri has now launched a process to collect evidence, summoning experts and examining witnesses with the aim of completing the investigation within 10 weeks.

The row started at the beginning of this month when the BIIU Nomination Unit published the list of approved candidates to stand for President of the AFBC.

The list included Cameroon’s Bertrand Mendouga, forced out in August by IBA President Umar Kremlev after accusations of embezzlement, which has triggered this election.

It also included Uganda Boxing Federation President Moses Muhangi, who earlier this year was arrested in his home country and has been sanctioned by the AFBC Ethics Committee and fined CHF5,000 (£4,500/$5,500/€5,200).

Morocco’s Mohamed El Kabbouri, widely believed to be Kremlev's preferred choice, should also be declared ineligible, the group claimed as he does not have the support of his National Federation.

They were also angry that Ferdinand Luyoyo, President of the Congo Boxing Federation, had not been allowed to stand in the election.

Luyoyo was formerly the Democratic Republic of Congo’s police chief and responsible for the protection of institutions and high-ranking officials in the country, including then President Joseph Kabila, accused of human rights abuses.

As a result, sanctions were imposed by the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom against Luyoyo.

The EU lifted the sanctions in May 2022, but he remains on the list in the UK.

The 30 countries, which is more than half of the 50 members of the AFBC, had claimed the BIIU Nomination Unit "lacked professionalism, accepting to act under influences from outside their unit, and put their transparency and integrity in jeopardy" and that "we cannot trust them".

This provoked an angry response from the IBA, who until now had relied on the total support of Africa, even though the International Federation has been stripped of its status overseeing Olympic boxing, with no country quitting to join the breakaway rival group World Boxing until Nigeria announced they were signing up to the rival group.

The election was subsequently postponed and has now been re-arranged for November 18 at a venue to be announced.

IBA is trying to force the AFBC to hold the election on December 10 in Dubai, a day after the IBA Ordinary Congress.