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How a billionaire Russian ‘sugar daddy’ took over an iconic Olympic sport
Sanctioned tycoon Alisher Usmanov parries Western efforts to oust him from shadow leadership role in world fencing.
By SEB STARCEVIC
Photo-illustration by Skizzomat for POLITICO
A Russian billionaire with ties to President Vladimir Putin wields immense influence over one of the world’s most prestigious sports — despite European Union and United States sanctions against him.
Alisher Usmanov, a 71-year-old mining and telecoms tycoon, led the International Fencing Federation (FIE) for more than a decade before stepping aside in 2022 following Western sanctions over his links to the Kremlin.
But the billionaire announced his bid to reclaim the presidency of the FIE late last year, seeking to crush a rebellion by Western fencing nations — and igniting a fierce debate over ethics and Russian cash in international sports.
As Moscow continues to be frozen out on the global stage after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, critics say the Kremlin is trying to rehabilitate its public image by exerting influence over sports bodies and pushing for Russian athletes to compete in major competitions — and is marshaling allies, from South America to Africa, to help its soft power play.
Usmanov’s shadowy control over the fencing world has now attracted the EU’s attention.
Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef told POLITICO: “Any person who covers up or benefits from the illegal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine must not be allowed to hold office.
“It would be unacceptable if international sport organizations undermine the EU sanctions regime and thus threaten the international rule of law,” he added.
But Usmanov’s near two-decade grip on international fencing will be tough to dislodge, as a cadre of Ukrainian-allied nations discovered late last year.
‘Banana republics’
In Örebro, a small city in central Sweden famed for its hulking medieval castle, leaders of the Nordic fencing federations met to discuss battle strategy ahead of the FIE elections.
“We felt it was bad [to let Usmanov run unopposed] because it’s kind of showing the whole world that we don’t really care about his connection to Putin, about the war in Ukraine,” Norwegian Fencing Federation President Ole Eeg told POLITICO. “It was important to let the world know that the fencing world is not united behind Usmanov.”
The Swedish fencing federation tried contesting the validity of Usmanov’s candidacy with the FIE, arguing among other things that as he was subject to a travel ban, he would be unable to complete his duties and should be disqualified from the race.
The Swedes also obtained from the sanctions division of the Swiss finance ministry legal advice, seen by POLITICO, which warned of “considerable risks” for the FIE if Usmanov was reelected.
“The asset freeze and the prohibition of making funds available apply not only to sanctioned individuals, but also to organizations that are owned or — directly or indirectly — controlled by them,” a spokesperson for the sanctions division said.
But FIE Interim President Emmanuel Katsiadakis rejected Sweden’s complaint, writing in a letter seen by POLITICO that Usmanov’s candidacy did not “conflict with any provisions of the FIE Ethical Code or the IOC Code of Ethics” regardless of “the sanctions currently applicable to him.”
Katsiadakis and the FIE did not respond to POLITICO’s repeated requests for comment on multiple channels.
The Nordic federations — Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland — with the support of the Baltic countries proposed an alternative candidate for the FIE presidency: Otto Drakenberg, a former Olympic fencer from Sweden and president of the country’s fencing federation. It was the first time Usmanov would have an opponent since 2008.
“Who would want to have a general election in your country with only one candidate? That leads us to think about the old banana republics,” Drakenberg told POLITICO, explaining his decision to stand against the Russian billionaire. “So why would we then allow it in fencing?”
Ancient sport
Fencing has existed in some form for millennia, but the modern rules of the sport were written in Italy and France in the 18th century, with fencing included in the first modern Olympics in 1896.
Since 2008, the Lausanne-based FIE has mostly been led by Usmanov, who was once a major shareholder of English football club Arsenal.
A former fencer for Soviet Uzbekistan, Usmanov was first elected as president of the FIE in 2008, and won a fourth consecutive term in 2021 unopposed, earning praise from Putin for his “assertiveness.”
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Usmanov was among the first moguls hit with a barrage of sanctions by the West, with the EU describing him as “one of Vladimir Putin’s favorite oligarchs” and “particularly close” to him.
The bloc later scrapped the term oligarch, which Usmanov rejects, referring to him as a “pro-Kremlin leading businessperson.”
The billionaire bemoaned in a statement that he was “the target of restrictive measures imposed by the European Union” and the victim of “false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation.”
Unable to set foot in Lausanne because Switzerland joining the EU’s measures against him, Usmanov added he would suspend his duties as FIE chief “until justice is restored,” with Katsiadakis of Greece appointed as the body’s interim president.
Usmanov didn’t step aside for long, however. In October of 2024 — still under sanctions after unsuccessfully challenging them in the European Court of Justice — he announced he would run for president of the FIE once again.
The election was to take place in November in Tashkent, the capital of his native country, Uzbekistan.
‘Sugar daddy’
Drakenberg was a natural fit as fencing’s white knight.
The Swedish businessman had already made a name for himself after a clip of his speech at a FIE congress in Lausanne in 2022 went viral. There, he took to the podium to argue against allowing Saudi Arabia to host a junior fencing championship over its dismal human rights record — and was drowned out by boos and shouts from the audience.
Along with his democratic concerns, Drakenberg said he decided to take on Usmanov because of what he described as the federation’s unhealthy financial dependence on the billionaire.
“We have built the last 16 years our organization to a large extent on the financials of one single person and the endowments of one single person — our president,” Drakenberg said. “To have a president who we are also financially dependent on … that’s not good governance.”
During his time at the helm of the FIE, Usmanov — whose net worth is estimated by Bloomberg to be about €16.7 billion — personally bankrolled the federation, writing checks worth tens of millions of Swiss francs.
A single donation from Usmanov of 5 million Swiss francs (€5.3 million) in 2020 accounted for 93 percent of the federation’s income that year, according to a financial report from the FIE.
A spokesperson for Usmanov told POLITICO: “When you love something, you are willing to devote your resources and energy to it — that is the essence of love.”
“Mr. Usmanov is deeply respected by FIE members not only for his substantial financial contributions — which, undoubtedly, played a significant role in expanding the organization’s capabilities before the sanctions — but also because of what can only be described as his excellent performance in his position,” the spokesperson added.
He has also plowed funds into fencing through his philanthropic foundation For the Future of Fencing, supporting the development of the traditionally Europe-centric sport worldwide, especially in African countries.
“We have a sugar daddy,” Finnish fencing chief Joonas Lyytinen told POLITICO. “The sugar daddy is paying for all the fun. But the sugar daddy is not going to be there forever. At some point, the money will stop flowing.”
Usmanov stopped his donations to the FIE after he was sanctioned, the federation’s financial reports from 2022, 2023 and 2024 show.
The show begins
The five-star InterContinental Hotel in Tashkent is among the Uzbek capital’s swankiest locales, with suites offering sweeping views of the city’s skyline for a few hundred euros a night and a grand ballroom big enough to fit almost 1,000 people.
The FIE’s presidential election was held on Nov. 30 at the hotel, with delegates from about 150 countries’ fencing federations attending. Representatives from the various countries that opposed Usmanov, including the Nordic and Baltic federations, the French and the Americans, dined at the hotel the night before the vote.
There, they had a sudden realization. “The Nordics were sitting there together, France and the U.S. are sitting there, and suddenly we said ‘where is everybody else?’” Norway’s fencing chief Eeg said.
African and Latin American delegates, as well as those from Western countries friendly to Usmanov, weren’t present because they were attending a gala dinner elsewhere, according to Eeg. The countries that opposed Usmanov had, naturally, not been invited. “That was rather humorous,” Eeg said.
The next day, what seemed like the entire fencing world filed into the InterContinental Hotel’s ballroom. Before any votes were cast, the presidential candidates were invited to deliver a five-minute speech. Drakenberg, sticking to his allotted five minutes, spoke about the need for the FIE to wean itself off Russian money and for the body to be transparent and democratic.
According to three people who were in attendance, Usmanov strode into the room flanked by his bodyguards and advisers and carrying a stack of envelopes.
The envelopes contained letters of support from more than 100 countries that had already pledged to back him as president, he declared. As he stood at the podium, a spotlight that was nowhere to be found when Drakenberg spoke was suddenly switched on, bathing Usmanov in a halo of white light.
“It was a bit of a show,” Eeg said.
The billionaire then launched into a lengthy tirade, attacking Drakenberg, slamming the EU’s “ridiculous” sanctions against him and reminding the room of how much he had done for fencing, including ensuring that the sport remained part of the Olympics.
Other countries’ fencing federations were given a chance to address the congress. Norway and Finland’s delegates spoke in support of Drakenberg, with Finnish fencing chief Lyytinen taking Usmanov to task over his sanctions troubles.
“I asked him personally in front of the congress, how is he going to handle the fact that he’s under sanctions by half of the world? And how can you reconcile that with discharging the duties of the president?” Lyytinen said.
“And basically, he refused to answer me.”
‘Shameful’
But in the lavish surrounds, Usmanov’s years of networking and targeted philanthropy paid off.
The rich Russian businessman wasn’t bluffing about the support he’d amassed from around the world.
As the debate went on, he was vocally backed up by delegates from Latin America and Africa. They urged Drakenberg to apologize for his criticism of Saudi Arabia two years prior; at one point, the African Fencing Confederation president was almost shouting into the microphone, according to witness accounts.
Once the speeches were over, 150 countries voted in a secret ballot. Usmanov received 120 votes; Drakenberg got just 26. The billionaire was reelected in a landslide victory.
His victory was “a testament to the recognition and deep respect from the fencing community,” his spokesperson told POLITICO.
Not everyone was so pleased, least of all Usmanov’s vanquished opponents, who had hoped to put up more of a fight.
Although Drakenberg’s camp knew beating Usmanov was an “uphill battle,” the outcome was still disappointing, Eeg said. “I personally had hoped for better votes in the election than what we got.”
The result also drew condemnation from Ukraine, with Sport Minister Matviy Bidnyi calling it “shameful.”
“Usmanov’s attempt to head an international sports organization undermines the principles of sport and legitimizes the actions of the aggressor,” a spokesperson for Ukraine’s sports ministry told POLITICO.
The Russia factor
The machinations didn’t end there, however.
Usmanov’s return to the most powerful position in fencing was short-lived. Within 24 hours, he informed the FIE that he was suspending his duties as president — again.
Despite his “indisputable victory,” Usmanov was “guided by the best interests of the FIE” and wanted to “prevent the legally unfounded restrictions imposed against him from being extended to the FIE and its activities,” his spokesperson said in a statement. Katsiadakis was reappointed interim president by the body’s executive committee.
“Mind you, before the elections I told journalists that this is exactly what’s going to happen,” Drakenberg said, alleging Usmanov stepped aside so he could avoid the scrutiny of being the body’s chief and “run the FIE almost as effectively from the shadow lands.”
“I believe he has put people in place [who] will act on his orders,” Drakenberg said.
A spokesperson for Usmanov said he has no role, official or unofficial, in overseeing the FIE.
Eeg said Usmanov’s play was about proving the sanctions against him are unjust. “He believes he stands in a better place if he has been elected as a global president for a sport,” he said. “He’s just trying to prove that he’s a good guy.”
Then there’s the Russia factor. As Moscow is increasingly isolated on the world stage amid its ongoing war in Ukraine and seeks to use all the diplomatic and soft power tools at its disposal, Usmanov holding onto the reins of the FIE was likely chalked up as a win by the Kremlin, his detractors say.
So too when fencing became only the second sport — after judo — to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in international events and qualify for the Olympics, albeit under a neutral flag, after the FIE voted to lift a ban on their participation in March 2023. The decision drew a sharp rebuke from the Ukrainian fencing body, which said it was “deeply shocked and outraged.”
It wouldn’t be the last time the war in Ukraine and fencing collided. In July 2023, Ukrainian star fencer Olga Kharlan refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent Anna Smirnova after their match at the world championships in Milan.
When Smirnova, competing under a neutral flag, went in for a handshake, Kharlan extended her saber. Initially disqualified over the snub, Kharlan was eventually reinstated by the FIE; she went on to win Ukraine’s first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I think it [leading the FIE] serves a higher purpose connected to the country he [Usmanov] represents,” Drakenberg said. “Sport has for a long time been an attractive instrument for that region [Russia].”
Usmanov’s spokesperson said he rejects any allegations that he is doing Moscow’s bidding, calling the EU’s sanctions reasoning “groundless.”
“Mr. Usmanov has been recognized as a successful entrepreneur, sports executive, and
philanthropist in many countries; however, this public recognition should not be confused with proximity to power,” his spokesperson said.
Friends in high places
Even Usmanov’s fiercest critics do not dispute his contribution to fencing, nor his genuine passion for the sport. Aside from his immense financial aid, he has promoted fencing outside Europe — 2024 was the first time athletes from Kenya, Niger, Rwanda and Cape Verde qualified to compete at the Olympics — and secured its full representation at the Games.
But Drakenberg said he feared what might happen to the governing body if it is dragged into the billionaire’s sanctions battles. Last year, the International Olympic Committee expelled boxing’s international governing body — which is also led by a Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin — over concerns about its finances, governance and ethics, though the sport remained part of the Games.
Asked about the possibility that the sanctions against him might cause legal problems for the FIE, Usmanov’s spokesperson said his candidacy for president “meets all the criteria set out in the FIE Statutes.”
Drakenberg said, “We should and will come under heavy scrutiny from the international community,” noting a new president of the IOC would be elected in 2025 who could be more hostile to Usmanov. The outgoing IOC president, Thomas Bach, is a former gold medalist fencer for West Germany and has previously counted himself as a friend of Usmanov.
“My biggest fear is that we then are thrown out of the Olympics. Being a relatively small, noncommercial, ancient sport, I think we would then be out for good. And fencing as we know it will cease to exist,” Drakenberg added.
(In the end, Kirsty Coventry, a former Zimbabwean swimmer, was elected as the new president — and she almost immediately opened the door to a sporting rapprochement with Russia.)
Asked about Usmanov stepping down and the sanctions against him, a spokesperson for the IOC said the FIE’s vote was “a democratic election won by a significant majority.”
“The IOC has been informed that following his election, Mr. Usmanov took the same good governance steps as he has taken before, in order to protect the International Federation,” the spokesperson told POLITICO.
To ensure the sport’s survival, Drakenberg called on the FIE to distance itself from Usmanov and find alternative sources of revenue, such as partnering with brands. Currently, the FIE does not have a single sponsor, according to its 2025 budget.
“We did exist before Usmanov. We need to learn to exist after Usmanov,” Drakenberg said. “Otherwise, we shouldn’t exist.”
