IBA secretary general István Kovács has issued a letter, obtained by insidethegames, to the heads of all of its National Federations where he highlighted the importance of general partner Gazprom to ensuring the future of the worldwide governing body for boxing.

"You will also be aware that, thanks to its partnership with Gazprom, IBA has been able to effectively support national federations, competitions and athletes, while also settling the debts that had threatened our future and transforming our organisation," Kovács wrote.

"It is not currently possible to completely cancel the Gazprom contract."

Kovács claimed the IBA, led by Russian Umar Kremlev, consider that its approach with Gazprom was "entirely consistent" with Sports Ministers from 37 countries that issued a joint statement earlier this month supporting sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the two countries’ involvement in the war on Ukraine.

When defending its stance with Gazprom, Kovács pointed to the line in the open letter from the Sports Minister which stated that "wherever possible appropriate actions should be taken to limit sponsorship and other financial support from entities with links to the Russian or Belarusian states".

The IBA’s financial situation was a key factor in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to suspend it as the Olympic governing body for boxing in June 2019 and in leaving the sport off the initial programme for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

An IOC Boxing Task Force oversaw the boxing tournament at Tokyo 2020, and the sport has been left off the initial programme for Los Angeles 2028.

The IOC suggested that the IBA's financial dependence on single sources of revenue from external investors was one of the reasons for its high level of debt, which at one point had reportedly reached at least $16 million (£11 million/€14 million).

If Gazprom were subject to heavy sanctions it could spell danger for the IBA, if the IOC's concern is warranted.

"The importance of diversifying our revenue streams was already identified internally by our auditor and by the IOC," Kovács added.

"It is a priority, and work is ongoing to achieve this, especially since last December with the rebranding that has already improved our commercial attractiveness."

A total of 18 National Federations, including the United States, England, France, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, reportedly formed the "Common Cause Alliance Group" calling on the IBA to disclose financial information involved in its agreement with the Gazprom.

"As leaders of NF’s (National Federations) we would like to understand the consequences that the IBA could face as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Government with assistance of the Belarussian Government," an email from Common Cause Alliance Group read, according report by the Irish Independent.

Gazprom is of enormous economic importance to the Russian Government, alongside petroleum corporations Rosneft and Lukoil.

The trio paid RUB3.2 trillion (£28 billion/$38 billion/€34 billion) in tax and other payments to the Government in 2020

European football's governing body UEFA announced at the start of this month that it had ended its 12-year sponsorship agreement with Gaxzprom.

The deal, estimated to be worth €40 million (£33 million/$44 million) per season, was due to run until 2023 after being renewed every three years since it was first signed in 2012.

The United Kingdom Government has also issued sanctions against Gazprom, while several other companies have cut ties with the Russian gas giant.

The IBA has joined numerous International Federation in adhering to recommendations set out by the IOC to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from all global sporting events.

The first major event that Russian and Belarusian boxers will miss is set to be the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, due to take place between May 6 and 21.

The Belarusian Boxing Federation had called for the ban to be overturned to allow them to compete in the tournament in the Turkish city.

However, insidethegames understands that IBA Board rejected the request after a mail vote carried out on March 17 polled 16 against and five in favour.

The IBA agreed to suspended competitions in Russia and Belarus following the IOC's recommendations in response to the Ukraine war.

Among those included the Global Boxing Cup which was due to be held in Russia in June but Kovács admitted there were "potential negative consequences arising" over its cancellation.

"IBA is currently engaging with a number of potential city and national federation host partners on reallocating the event," said Kovács.

"Any National Federations with an interest in taking on the responsibilities of hosting are very welcome to contact the IBA office."

insidethegames has asked IBA for a comment.