GENEVA (AP) — Olympic powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad has stepped aside from his IOC work while facing a criminal trial in Switzerland.
The Kuwaiti sheikh denies wrongdoing but says in a statement he does not want "these politically motivated allegations to distract attention" from his Olympic work.
Sheikh Ahmad has been indicted for forgery in Geneva in an investigation arising from a dispute with another Kuwaiti royal family member.
Sheikh Ahmad is a 26-year International Olympic Committee member, close ally of president Thomas Bach, and leads the global and Asian groups of national Olympic bodies.
The IOC says its ethics commission is studying the case.
Sheikh Ahmad left the FIFA Council last year after being identified as "co-conspirator 2" in an ongoing American investigation of bribery in world soccer.
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