Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah#Swiss fraud conviction

Ahmed was educated at Kuwait University and the Kuwait Military Academy, and attained the rank of major in the Kuwaiti Army.

He was appointed Kuwait's minister of information in 2000, and acting minister of oil in 2001. In February 2002, he was appointed minister of oil.[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=20020211&id=bkxWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9OsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4228,2901021 Kuwaiti oil minister resigns]. Access date: 10 September 2014. Eugene Register-Guard. Dated February 2002 After Emir Sheikh Jaber died and Sheikh Sabah became Emir, he remained at that position under Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed's government. Ahmed served as Secretary General of OPEC in 2005,{{cite web |title=Secretaries General of OPEC 1961–2008 |url=http://www.opec.org/opec_web/static_files_project/media/downloads/50th_anniversary/Secretaries_General.pdf |work=OPEC |access-date=26 January 2017}} and was appointed the director of the National Security Agency in July 2006.

In June 2011, then deputy prime minister and minister of housing affairs, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad resigned in order to avoid grilling by MPs Marzouq Al-Ghanim and Adel Al-Saraawi over alleged misconduct in government contracts.{{Cite web|title=News Summary Report 상세보기{{!}}News Summary ReportEmbassy of the Republic of Korea to the State of Kuwait|url=http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/kw-en/brd/m_11556/view.do?seq=656333&srchFr=&srchTo=&srchWord=&srchTp=&multi_itm_seq=0&itm_seq_1=0&itm_seq_2=0&company_cd=&company_nm=|access-date=2020-10-17|website=overseas.mofa.go.kr}}

On 18 June 2023, Ahmad was appointed Kuwait's Minister of Defense.{{Cite news |date=2023-06-18 |title=Kuwait forms cabinet with new oil minister, finance minister re-appointed |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/kuwait-forms-new-government-headed-by-sheikh-ahmad-nawaf-al-sabah-2023-06-18/ |access-date=2023-07-02}} He held this position until 17 January 2024.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-17 |title=Kuwait forms first government under new emir and prime minister |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2443066/middle-east |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Arab News |language=en}}

Ahmed has undertaken numerous sporting positions and was the president of the Olympic Council of Asia from 1991 to 2022, a member of the IOC since 1992, was the president of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, chairman of the Afro Asian Games Council, vice president of the International Handball Federation, president of Asian Handball Federation, senior vice president of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation, honorary president of several Kuwaiti, Arab and Asian clubs and was also a member of International Relations and Olympic Solidarity Commission of the IOC.

He also served as coach of the Kuwait national football team. After a failed Asian Cup qualifying campaign in 2006 he launched a tirade against group-winners, Australia, claiming that the AFC should revoke their admission to the Asian continental competition.{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-12-11/socceroos-should-be-thrown-out-of-asia-kuwait/2150446|title=Socceroos should be thrown out of Asia: Kuwait|date=2006-12-11|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-08-25}}

Ahmed served as the president of the Association of National Olympic Committees from April 2012 until November 2018, when he resigned following charges of fraud in Switzerland. During his presidency, he implemented a statistical system for athletes, which was developed under the advice of Charles E. Milander.[http://www.acnolympic.org/about-anoc/history-of-anoc/ History of ANOC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214084635/http://www.acnolympic.org/about-anoc/history-of-anoc/ |date=14 February 2015 }}. http://www.acnolympic.org. Access date: 26 February 2015

In November 2010, Sheikh Ahmad was accused in parliament by MP Adel Al-Saraawi of running an unauthorised, parallel Kuwaiti government. The accusations that Sheikh Ahmad controlled parts of the government that lay outside his responsibility were fuelled by the fact that his brother Sheikh Athbi Al-Fahad Al-Sabah became head of the Kuwait State Security apparatus.{{Cite news |date=1 December 2010 |title=Kuwait: The political scene: Sheikh Ahmed is accused of running his own government |work=Economist Intelligence Unit |url=http://country.eiu.com/(F(6xNzZD5JgRhc6THceYrMIioNKS1BRLGPNjBci5rbOfEawUjVy741uoXJ_b2Xm0YiHwrHBHUtlcsYSe9wJcAwlGM9BHO3Ko_HiJq-Ow9Cz9E1))/article.aspx?articleid=877629472&Country=Kuwait}} In March 2011, MPs aligned with former Kuwait prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed (Marzouq Al-Ghanim and Adel Al-Saraawi) in Kuwait's National Assembly threatened to grill Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad, then deputy prime minister, over misconduct in government contracts, leading to Ahmad's resignation from government in June 2011.{{Cite web |last=Diwan |first=Kristin Smith |title=Kuwait's constitutional showdown |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/11/17/kuwaits-constitutional-showdown/ |access-date=17 October 2020 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=9 June 2011 |title=Kuwait's deputy prime minister resigns - TV |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/kuwait-resignation-idUSLDE75818S20110609 |access-date=17 October 2020}}

In December 2013, allies of Ahmad Al-Fahad claimed to possess tapes purportedly showing that Nasser Al-Mohammed and former Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi were discussing plans to topple the Kuwaiti government.{{Cite news |date=18 March 2015 |title='Fake' video tape ends Kuwait coup investigation |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31947945 |access-date=2020-10-17}} Ahmad Al-Fahad appeared on local channel Al-Watan TV [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7bweVVbXGg describing his claims].{{Cite web |title=فيديو: أحمد الفهد الصباح عبر قناة الوطن: يشرح قصة (الشريط) وكيف تعامل معه: وصلني من مصدر مجهول ! |url=https://alziadiq8.com/77818.html |access-date=17 October 2020 |website=مدونة الزيادي |language=ar}}

In April 2014 the Kuwaiti public prosecutor launched an investigation into the alleged coup videos and imposed a total media blackout to ban any reporting or discussion on the issue.{{Cite web |title=Kuwait orders media blackout on 'coup' video |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2014/4/11/kuwait-orders-media-blackout-on-coup-video |access-date=17 October 2020 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}} To convince the public prosecutor of the videos’ legitimacy, Ahmad and his team created a false legal dispute in Switzerland, involving the backdating of documents and a shell company in Delaware under their control. This staged arbitration, later revealed to be fraudulent in Swiss criminal proceedings, was then presented to the High Court in London as part of the process to verify the videos.{{Cite news |date=2024-01-22 |title=Olympic member Sheikh Ahmad has conviction for forgery upheld on appeal though won't serve jail time |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/01/22/olympics-sheikh-ahmad-kuwait-forgery-appeal/529ad27e-b963-11ee-b176-fe5fd794e716_story.html |access-date=2024-01-26 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

In March 2015, Kuwait's public prosecutor dropped all investigations into the alleged coup plot and Ahmad Al-Fahad [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3SQCVtDa7c read a public apology on Kuwait state television] renouncing the coup allegations.{{Cite news |date=19 November 2018 |title=Indicted Kuwaiti Sheikh Steps Aside From I.O.C. (Published 2018) |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |agency=The Associated |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/sports/indicted-kuwaiti-sheikh-steps-aside-from-ioc.html |access-date=17 October 2020 |issn=0362-4331}} Concurrently, Athbi Al-Fahad, his sibling and former head of state security, together with individuals known as the "Fintas Group," engaged in a disinformation effort. They created and distributed a [https://youtube.com/watch?v=FLiVJ0iSkZE grainy, fabricated video] that falsely depicted the head of the constitutional court accepting a bribe, insinuating that this act influenced the Public Prosecutor’s decision to cease the investigation. In the aftermath, Athbi Al-Fahad and the members of the Fintas Group faced legal proceedings and were convicted by a criminal court for their roles in these activities.{{Cite web |title=Kuwaiti royals jailed after appeal in social media case fails |url=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/kuwaiti-royals-jailed-after-appeal-in-social-media-case-fails-639130.html |access-date=17 October 2020 |website=ArabianBusiness.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2016-05-31 |title=Three members of the Kuwaiti royal family have been jailed for insulting judges in WhatsApp messages |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/three-members-of-kuwaiti-royal-family-handed-prison-sentences-for-insulting-judges-over-whatsapp-a7057646.html |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

In December 2015, Ahmad was convicted of "disrespect to the public prosecutor and attributing a remark to the country’s ruler without a special permission from the emir’s court," issued a suspended six-month prison sentence and a fine of 1,000 Kuwaiti Dinar. In January 2016, the Kuwaiti appeals court overturned the prior ruling and cleared Ahmed of all charges.{{Cite news |date=26 January 2016 |title=Kuwaiti court overturns conviction of ruling family member - media |language=pt |work=Reuters |url=https://br.reuters.com/article/uk-kuwait-trial-sheikhahmad-idUKKCN0V411W |url-status=dead |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020024549/https://br.reuters.com/article/uk-kuwait-trial-sheikhahmad-idUKKCN0V411W |archive-date=20 October 2020}}

In November 2018, Ahmed, along with four others, was charged in Switzerland with forgery related to staging a sham arbitration in Switzerland to authenticate the fake video purporting to show a coup plot in Kuwait, after a criminal complaint put forth by lawyers representing Nasser Al-Mohammad and Jassem Al-Kharafi.{{Cite web |date=17 November 2018 |title=Powerful Kuwaiti IOC member to be tried in Switzerland for forgery |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181117-powerful-kuwaiti-ioc-member-be-tried-switzerland-forgery |access-date=17 October 2020 |work=France 24 |language=en}} Shortly thereafter, Ahmed temporarily stepped aside from his role at the International Olympic Committee, pending an ethics committee hearing into the allegations.{{Cite web |date=19 November 2018 |title=Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah stands down from IOC amid forgery allegations |url=http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/nov/19/sheikh-ahmad-al-sabah-stands-down-ioc-forgery-allegations-olympic |access-date=20 October 2020 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}

On 30 August 2021, Ahmed attended court alongside three of the other four defendants: Hamad Al-Haroun (Ahmed's Kuwaiti former aide) and Geneva-based lawyers from Bulgaria and Ukraine. A fifth defendant, English lawyer Matthew Parish, was not in court and was tried in absentia.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-30 |title=Trial of Olympic sheikh on forgery charges opens in Geneva |url=https://apnews.com/article/sports-europe-middle-east-geneva-2020-tokyo-olympics-82b934f59092f963bd8895e9f9dea5f5 |access-date=2021-08-31 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Olympic official quizzed for 5 hours in Geneva forgery trial |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/olympic-official-quizzed-hours-geneva-forgery-trial-79753447 |access-date=2021-09-01 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

On 10 September 2021, Sheikh Ahmed was convicted of forgery along with the four other defendants. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, half of it suspended. He denied wrongdoing and appealed his conviction.{{Cite news |last=Farge |first=Emma |date=10 September 2021 |title=Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmad convicted of forgery in Geneva trial |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/kuwaits-sheikh-ahmad-convicted-forgery-geneva-trial-2021-09-10/ |access-date=}}{{Cite web |date=2023-07-08 |title=Sheikh Talal replaces his suspended brother, keeps Asian Olympic leadership in Al Sabah family |url=https://apnews.com/article/olympics-asia-election-alsabah-ioc-oca-71c6cf2670687d2a69749f7f6da2d49e |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=AP News |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2023-07-07 |title=IOC warns convicted Kuwaiti sheikh against getting involved in Asian Olympic election |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2023/07/07/olympic-council-asia-sheikh-ahmad-ioc/1a728664-1cbd-11ee-be41-a036f4b098ec_story.html |access-date=2023-07-15 |issn=0190-8286}} The Geneva Court of Appeal upheld Ahmad's conviction on 18 December 2023. This decision was publicly announced on 18 January 2024, following the conclusion of his tenure as Minister of Defence, which ended the previous day.{{Cite news |date=2024-01-19 |title=Faux arbitrage et vidéo truquée – La justice genevoise condamne un puissant cheikh koweïtien |url=https://www.tdg.ch/justice-a-geneve-un-puissant-cheikh-koweitien-condamne-582330215457 |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=Tribune de Genève |language=fr}}

In April 2017, Ahmed resigned from the FIFA Council after being implicated by a member of the FIFA audit committee from Guam, Richard Lai, who [https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/fifa-audit-and-compliance-committee-member-pleads-guilty-corruption-charges pleaded guilty in a US court] to taking $950,000 in bribes from the Olympic Council of Asia.{{Cite web|date=2017-11-21|title=Three Fifa officials banned from football for life over corruption charges|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/fifa-corruption-richard-lai-julio-rocha-rafael-esquivel-banned-life-pleaded-guilty-corrupt-scandal-investigation-a8066981.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018114520/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/fifa-corruption-richard-lai-julio-rocha-rafael-esquivel-banned-life-pleaded-guilty-corrupt-scandal-investigation-a8066981.html |archive-date=2020-10-18 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=2020-10-17|website=The Independent|language=en}}

In his guilty plea, Lai said he understood "co-conspirator 2" identified as Sheikh Ahmed was the source of the bribes. This amount "included $750,000 in wire transfers from Kuwaiti accounts controlled by co-conspirator 3 or his assistants," believed to be Hussain Al-Musallam, "the right-hand man to Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah" according to a report from The Times, to influence key appointments in regional and international soccer bodies.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/sports/olympics/ahmad-al-fahad-al-sabah-sheikh-corruption-case.html|title=Powerful Sheikh Linked to Sports Corruption Case Resurfaces in Prague|first=Tariq|last=Panja|work=The New York Times |date=3 November 2017|via=NYTimes.com}}{{Cite news|last=Reporter|first=Martyn Ziegler, Chief Sports|title=Senior swimming executive implicated in Fifa bribery scandal|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/senior-swimming-executive-implicated-in-fifa-bribery-scandal-lhzkhptfb|access-date=2020-10-17|issn=0140-0460}} Ahmed :vigorously: denied any wrongdoing.{{Cite news|title=Fifa official Sheikh Ahmad resigns|language=en-GB|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39757187|access-date=2020-10-17}}

In August 2023, US court documents implicated Sheikh Ahmad, his brother Dhari Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, and close associate Husain Al-Musallam in a bribery and racketeering scheme connected to the State of Qatar. Additionally, a shell company named Beriza Limited, also mentioned in the documents, is suspected of being controlled by Ahmad. This suspicion arises particularly because the company later made payments to Ahmad’s lawyer Matthew Parish in relation to a fraudulent arbitration case, leading to criminal convictions for both Ahmad and Parish. Bank statements from the Qatari embassy in London indicate that these entities received millions of dollars from Qatar. These funds are alleged to have been used as bribes to influence FIFA officials in support of Qatar's bid to host the World Cup.{{Cite news |last=Rosen |first=Armin |date=30 August 2023 |title=Qatar’s World Cup FIFA Bribe Documents Exposed |work=Tablet Magazine |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/sports/articles/qatar-world-cup-fifa-bribe-documents-exposed-armin-rosen}}

In September 2021, the Associated Press reported that Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah and Hussain Al-Musallam have been targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice for suspected racketeering and bribery related to FIFA and international soccer politics. According to the AP, in 2017, the US embassy in Kuwait formally requested evidence from the country, including bank account information for the two officials, who have been identified as potential co-conspirators.{{Cite web|last=Haroun|first=Azmi|title=The DOJ is investigating two senior Kuwaiti Olympic officials for bribery and racketeering related to FIFA probe|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/doj-is-investigating-two-senior-kuwaiti-olympic-officials-for-bribery-2021-9|access-date=2021-09-03|website=Business Insider|language=en}} American prosecutors "told their Kuwaiti counterparts they wanted to establish if the suspects made other payments to [Richard] Lai, or if their accounts were used to wire possible bribe payments to other soccer officials."{{Cite web|title=Documents show US investigation of 2 Kuwaitis in FIFA case|url=http://summergames.ap.org/article/documents-show-us-investigation-2-kuwaitis-fifa-case|access-date=2021-09-02|website=Summer Games Olympics 2020|language=en}}

In July 2023 the head of the IOC ethics commission sent letters to Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad warning him against getting involved in upcoming Olympic Council of Asia elections in Bangkok. The letters urged him to reconsider going to Bangkok "to avoid any type of interference with the Olympic Movement’s activities."{{Cite news |date=7 July 2023 |title=IOC warns convicted Kuwaiti sheikh against getting involved in Asian Olympic election |url=https://apnews.com/article/olympic-council-asia-sheikh-ahmad-ioc-ddb9a916d024400b3cdd4612acf20393 |work=AP News}} On 27 July 2023, the International Olympic Committee banned Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad for 3 years, approving the recommendation of its ethics committee which found that Sheikh Ahmad had an "undeniable impact" on the OCA elections in support of his brother Talal Al-Fahad's candidacy. On 13 October 2023, the IOC ethics commission told the OCA that its 2023 elections must be annulled due to Sheikh Ahmad's interference and that his brother's candidacy "should have been declared ineligible from the outset".{{Cite news |date=2023-10-13 |title=OCA elections must be invalid over Sheikh Ahmad interference, Olympic Committee ethics chief says |url=https://www.reuters.com/sports/oca-elections-must-be-invalid-over-sheikh-ahmad-interference-ioc-ethics-chief-2023-10-13/ |access-date=2023-10-13 |work=Reuters |language=en}}

In May 2024, following the upholding of his Swiss fraud conviction in December 2023, Sheikh Ahmad was banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for 15 years, commencing from the start of his initial three-year ban. The IOC cited "a betrayal of his oath as an IOC Member and the severity of the harm to the IOC's reputation" as reasons for the extended suspension.{{Cite news |date=2024-05-04 |title=IOC imposes 15-year ban on former Olympic power broker Sheikh Ahmad of Kuwait |url=https://apnews.com/article/ioc-olympic-sheikh-ahmad-suspended-kuwait-af3f9ae512062b77413c696141b5e711 |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=AP News |language=en}}

• House of Al-Sabah

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Category:1963 births

Category:Living people

Ahmad Al Fahad Al Ahmed

Category:International Olympic Committee members

Category:Kuwait University alumni

Category:Oil ministers of Kuwait

Category:Secretaries general of OPEC

Category:Politicians from Beirut

Category:Deputy prime ministers of Kuwait

Category:Defence ministers of Kuwait

Category:Housing ministers of Kuwait

Category:Information ministers of Kuwait