An Interim Management Committee (IMC), set up last month following a vote of no confidence in Wu by the AIBA Executive Committee at a meeting in Moscow, told Louis-Marie in the letter they had taken the decision "with immediate effect, for the sake of AIBA and its members".

The letter, which insidethegames has seen, claimed that Louis-Marie is at "best trying to defend, by any way, the person who named you as executive director (i.e. Ching-Kuo Wu) and, at worst, that you are directly trying to hide wrongdoings and potentially criminal acts that were committed within AIBA". 

Wu has strongly disputed the allegations and insisted that the IMC have no right to take any such action against Louis-Marie, the Frenchman appointed executive director of AIBA following Rio 2016. 

"Those accusations are entirely false and strongly disputed by AIBA," Wu told insidethegames.

The decision to send the letter by the IMC was taken after AIBA filed a criminal complaint against Franco Falcinelli, President of the European Boxing Confederation and leader of the rebel group, for allegedly threatening a member of their staff.

"I would like here to emphasise that I, as AIBA’s President and legal representative, have signed the criminal complaint and not AIBA’s executive director, as the so-called IMC indicated incorrectly," said Wu.

"I would like to strongly disapprove and regret that the so-called IMC has decided to escalate the current dispute by making unjustified personal attacks against an employee of our Association."

Wu added: "Furthermore, the so-called IMC has taken the 'decision' to suspend the AIBA executive director. 

"Such decision is unlawful and will not be applied for the following reasons. 

"First, it is in clear breach of the procedural rules applying to a suspension, as clearly stated in AIBA’s statutes and bylaws.

"Second, it is groundless and has been taken obviously on the basis of wrong assumptions, including the assumptions that AIBA’s executive director would have personally filed a criminal complaint against the so-called IMC, which is inaccurate. 

"Thirdly, given the severe doubt as to the validity of the setting up and the powers granted to the so-called IMC and the possible collusion of all or certain of its members with third parties hostile to AIBA (In particular Mr. Ho Kim), AIBA can only wait for a court decision before giving any credit to any decision of the IMC, all-the-more if this decision appears to be in breach of AIBA's statutes and/or the law. 

"I am confident the Swiss court will look carefully at all the evidences and further take its decision for the best interests of our sport, its staff and its stakeholders."

Last Monday (August 7), the Swiss courts rejected requests from both Wu and the IMC for urgent provisional measures to be taken over the running of the organisation and deferred a decision until August 17. 

The IMC claim that allegations Falcinelli threatened a member of AIBA staff are false.

"This 'criminal complaint', which consists of two short pages and seven allegations, all of which are entirely wrong and deceptive (including the fact it has been filed in the name of AIBA, without any competence to do so), is all but certain to have been filed in the context of the pending procedure before the civil courts in Lausanne," the IMC’s letter to Louis-Marie reads.

"Such a way of proceeding is not only appalling, it very likely fulfils all the conditions of a criminal act under Swiss law for wilful defamation, coercion, false accusations and blackmail.

"All are very serious offences, made even worse by the fact that you claim to be acting in your official position of executive director of AIBA.

"As mentioned in our statement of August 8, all of the recent circumstances show that you seem ready to endanger AIBA solely to pursue you own personal interests, as well as the ones of Ching-Kuo Wu. 

"By doing so, you are not only harming AIBA’s reputation and image, but putting its existence itself at risk."

Wu and Louis-Marie blame former AIBA executive director Ho Kim both for alleged financial problems, relating to a missing $10 million (£7.7 million/€8.5 million) loan reached with Azerbaijani company Benkons MMC, as well as for orchestrating the opposition movement.

Louis-Marie also circulated an e-mail addressed by the IMC to AIBA staff members in which Ho and his successor Karim Bouzidi were both copied-in as supposed evidence of their involvement.

Bouzidi is another former executive director who was removed following the judging controversy at Rio 2016 which remains at the centre of an investigation after all 36 referees and judges used at the Olympics were suspended.