Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 17, 2026

Umar Kremlev

Umar Kremlev is a Russian sports functionary and ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin. He has served as the president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) since 2020. He has been Secretary General and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Boxing Federation of Russia since February 2017. In 2022, IBA members voted against holding an election by 106 votes to 36, allowing Kremlev to remain IBA president.

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Umar Kremlev
Kremlev in 2017
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 December 2020
Preceded byMohamed Moustahsane
Secretary General of Russian Boxing Federation
In office
2017–2021
Succeeded byKirill Shekurtsov
Personal details
Born (1982-11-01) November 1, 1982
Serpukhov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
SpouseAnastasia Kremleva
EducationMoscow State Academy of Public Utilities and Construction.
OccupationPresident of the International Boxing Association (IBA)
ProfessionSports administrator
Sports career
SportBoxing

Umar Kremlev (ru: Умар Назарович Кремлёв; born as Umar Nazarovich Lutfuloev1 on 1 November 1982) is a Russian sports functionary and ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.234 He has served as the president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) since 2020.5 He has been Secretary General and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Boxing Federation of Russia since February 2017.6 In 2022, IBA members voted against holding an election by 106 votes to 36, allowing Kremlev to remain IBA president.7

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.89 The IBA's relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) deteriorated under Kremlev's tenure.8 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.8 The IOC stated that the IBA had failed to address concerns regarding governance, finance, and corruption.10

Since then, Kremlev has emerged as one of the key purveyors of Russian disinformation in international sports.1112 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".89

Early life

Kremlev was born on 1 November 1982 in Serpukhov, Moscow region. He took up boxing at the local sports palace, training in his hometown under the guidance of coach Alexei Galeev. He left boxing at the age of 19.13 Kremlev graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Public Utilities and Construction.14

Later life

In 2010, Kremlev officially changed his name from Umar Lutfulloyev.15 Possible reasons for the name change include trading a Tajik surname for one that sounds more Russian, and attempting to distance himself from a youthful criminal history, which includes a conviction for extortion in 2004 and battery in 2007.16

It is claimed that Kremlev worked for a transport company, Transstroykom LLC, and from 2009 to 2012 served as President of the Centre for Strategic Development and Modernisation.17

In 2016, with the support of the leadership of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation – in particular Alexey Rubizhny – he became Secretary General and then President of the Boxing Federation of Russia. Kremlev claims that the federation operates on private funds and does not receive financial injections from the government. The federation's main sponsors are the bookmaker Liga Stavok and the National Lottery, which, according to an investigation by Proekt, actually belong to Kremlev himself. Also among the federation's partners was the car dealer Rolf, which, according to the same investigation, also came under Kremlev's control.16

Between 2020 and 2023, with the assistance of state structures, Kremlev gained significant control over the Russian betting market. This was facilitated by legislative changes initiated at a high level. In 2020, a law on a single betting accounting centre was passed, and in 2021, a decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Kremlev's company, TsUPIS, as the sole operator of all bookmaker betting in the country. Kremlev also became the beneficiary of three of Russia's largest betting companies: Fonbet, Pari, and Liga Stavok. In addition, he gained control over the Unified Gambling Regulator, which was created to oversee betting activities.16

In 2020, he was elected president of the International Boxing Association (IBA). Kremlev's election caused mixed reactions in the international boxing community owing to his past and his ties to Russian authorities. Under Kremlev's leadership, the IBA signed a sponsorship contract with Gazprom, which intensified the conflict with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IBA organises international tournaments that are not recognised by the IOC. In 2023, Kremlev was part of the official Russian delegation during the Russian president's visit to China.16

Career

Kremlev has been involved in boxing since his youth. Until July 2017, he was Head of Patriot Boxing Promotions and worked with leading boxers such as Roy Jones Jr.,18 Fedor Chudinov,19 Dmitry Chudinov, and Mikhail Aloyan. He now works at the Boxing Progress Centre in Moscow.20

On 1 February 2017, Kremlev became General Secretary and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Russian Boxing Federation.

On 3 November 2018, Kremlev was elected (with 63 votes) to the Executive Committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA, later IBA) at the AIBA Congress in Moscow, thus becoming the first Russian to be nominated as a Member of the AIBA Executive Committee.212223

On 23 February 2019, he was elected First Vice‑President of the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) by a majority of votes (25 out of 40) at the EUBC General Assembly held in Moscow.2425

On 21 November 2019, Kremlev was nominated as Chairman of the AIBA Marketing Commission at the AIBA Extraordinary Executive Committee Meeting; he later organised AIBA Continental Forums for the countries of the Americas, Oceania, and Asia in 2020.2627

He won 57.33 per cent of the vote to replace Mohamed Moustahsane of Morocco as AIBA President on 12 December 2020. The election was held virtually at AIBA's ongoing congress owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was attended by 155 National Federations from five continents.28

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been concerned about the IBA under Kremlev's leadership.29 Kremlev has ties to Vladimir Putin, has moved much of the IBA's operations from Lausanne, Switzerland, to Russia, has spent heavily on apparent self‑promotion, and has opposed the independent appointment of judges and referees.2930 The IOC has also been alarmed by the fact that the IBA's only sponsor was a Russian state‑owned energy company (Gazprom) that supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine,29 although Kremlev said that sponsorship ended in December 2022.3132 This statement was later refuted in August 2024 by Chris Roberts, IBA's British chief, who confirmed that Gazprom remained an IBA sponsor.33 In September 2022, the IBA voted against holding a presidential election, cementing Kremlev's position as the organisation's president.29

In 2023, the IBA suspended two fighters, Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, on unspecified grounds.9 Khelif was suspended shortly before her gold medal bout against the Chinese boxer Yang Liu,34 three days after defeating Azalia Amineva, a previously unbeaten Russian prospect, at the IBA's world championships.9 Kremlev later stated, without providing proof, that Khelif had failed a gender test.9 No evidence has been presented that Khelif has XY chromosomes or elevated levels of testosterone.8 Kremlev said that the tests were carried out by medical professionals "at the request of female athletes" and after "the women's coaches complained a lot", and claimed that he could not release the medical records of the two tested athletes because they contained their personal and genetic data.35 Khelif has been deemed eligible for all other boxing competitions, including the Olympics.8

On 2 September 2024, Kremlev, still the head of the IBA, was announced as the new owner of the state‑run car dealership Rolf.36

Awards

References

References

  1. O'Riordan, Ian (24 May 2019). "Boxing is an Olympic sport where there is still fumbling in the greasy till". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  2. "Putin's ally running world amateur boxing looks to uphold Russian soft power". 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
  3. Klepper, David (2024-08-07). "How Russian disinformation campaigns have sought to undermine the Paris Olympics". PBS News. Retrieved 2025-10-30. ... and is led by Umar Kremlev, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
  4. "The Putin-backed strongman who threw the Paris Games into chaos".
  5. "Umar Kremlev Wins AIBA Presidency". Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  6. "На Международном дне бокса в Москве установлен рекорд Гиннесса". sport-express.ru. July 29, 2019.
  7. "IOC 'extremely concerned' about boxing after vote". ESPN.com. 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  8. Carpenter, Les. "Olympic boxer who faced gender-eligibility claim wins, igniting outcry". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  9. "Banned governing body that's fueling outcry on Olympic boxers has Russian ties and troubled history". ABC News. 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2025-09-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. Ingle, Sean (2023-06-21). "IOC set to strip IBA of its recognition as the official boxing body for Olympics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  11. Zidan, Karim (2024-08-09). "Imane Khelif Has Been Caught in the Crossfire of a Dispute Over Who Controls Boxing". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 2025-10-30. leading a 'disinformation campaign against the Olympic movement'.
  12. "Paris Olympics: The disinformation campaign against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif". 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
  13. "Биография нового президента Международной ассоциации бокса Умара Кремлева - ТАСС". TACC. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  14. "Умар Кремлёв. Биография и деятельность президента Международной ассоциации бокса | Статьи". vesma.today. Archived from the original on 2023-03-10. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  15. https://www.proekt.media/en/guide-en/kremlev-rubezhnoy/
  16. Romanovsky, Roman; Badanin, Roman; Maglov, Mikhail; Rubin, Mikhail (2024-07-23). "Life and Morals of the P. Era. Part 4: An investigation into how the president's bodyguard and a hardcore criminal from the Moscow suburbs are making billions in betting money". Proekt (in Russian).
  17. "КРЕМЛЕВ Умар Назарович | Российские спортсмены и специалисты | Спортивная Россия". www.infosport.ru.
  18. "WBA проведет анализ действий судей в бою за титул чемпиона мира Чудинов - Штурм". ТАСС.
  19. Российский боксер Алоян 22 июля в Москве проведет бой за титул WBC Silver — Кремлёв
  20. Бостанов, Азамат (March 2, 2017). "Глава службы безопасности президента возглавит Федерацию бокса России". Известия.
  21. правды», Георгий ШАХОВ | Сайт «Комсомольской (August 26, 2019). "Умар Кремлев: Федерация бокса России - самая прогрессивная в стране". vologda.kp.ru - Сайт «Комсомольской правды».{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. "Умар Кремлев: "Неправильно, когда какой-то Флойд Мэйвезер ставит рекорд Гиннеса в России"". Sports.ru.
  23. "Красная площадь увидела шесть тысяч кулаков". sport-express.ru. July 22, 2017.
  24. "Международный боксерский форум открывается в Сочи". ТАСС.
  25. "Итоги Первого Международного боксерского форума в Сочи". rusboxing.ru. Archived from the original on 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  26. "Кремлев избран на пост вице-президента Европейской конфедерации бокса".
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  28. "Russian Umar Kremlev elected AIBA president". Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  29. Carpenter, Les (27 September 2022). "Boxing's governing body nixes new election, jeopardizing Olympic future". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  30. "Venäläiset ja valkovenäläiset takaisin nyrkkeilykisoihin – järkyttyneet ruotsalaiset ilmoittivat jo boikotoivansa, Suomen liitolla pohdinnat käynnissä". Yle. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  31. "IBA president Kremlev defends divisive prize money scheme despite IOC pushback". Reuters. 30 May 2024.
  32. "IBA's Kremlev: Gazprom commercial tie-up has ended". Sportcal. 2 May 2023.
  33. Burrows, Josh; Brown, Oliver; Morgan, Tom (2024-08-05). "Imane Khelif branded a man in shambolic boxing gender row press conference". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  34. "Boxing's gender row - what's going on and are Russia involved?". BBC News. 4 August 2024.
  35. "Imane Khelif: Boxing boss says Olympics is 'destroying women's sports' - as Algerian boxer in gender row guaranteed bronze in Paris". Sky News. 4 August 2024.
  36. Stolyarov, Gleb; Marrow, Alexander (September 2, 2024). Fincher, Christina (ed.). "Boxing federation chief unveiled as owner of nationalised Russian car dealership". Reuters. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  37. "Умар Кремллёв награждён премией EUBC Awards". matchtv.ru.
  38. "Кремлев Умар Назарович награжден медалью ордена "За заслуги перед Отечеством" II степени". boxing-ekb.ru. Archived from the original on 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  39. "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 11.03.2020 № 177 ∙ Официальное опубликование правовых актов ∙ Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации". publication.pravo.gov.ru.
External links