Sanctioned Ex-Russian general reinstated to FIA governance role

A former Russian government official under Western sanctions has been restored to a key rule-making position within motorsport’s global governing body, the FIA, Sport360NG reports.

Victor Kiryanov, who resigned from the FIA World Motor Sport Council in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was reinstated by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for the council’s meeting on 11 June.

Kiryanov, a former Russian deputy minister of internal affairs and head of the Russian Automobile Federation, remains sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and several other Western nations including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Switzerland.

According to the UK Treasury, those sanctions involve the freezing of assets, travel bans, director disqualification, and restrictions on providing trust services. He is described by EU officials as having “obtained a benefit from or supported the Government of Russia” through his links to Rostec, a state-owned defence conglomerate.

Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the FIA aligned itself with the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations, suspending Russian and Belarusian officials from their duties within the organisation. At that time, both Ben Sulayem and Motorsport UK chairman David Richards pressed Kiryanov to step down voluntarily, which he did.

However, in May this year, the FIA World Council voted electronically to lift those restrictions and reinstate officials from Russia and Belarus “in the interests of fairness.”

Kiryanov subsequently attended FIA council meetings in June and October, and, according to multiple sources, used the first of those appearances to personally thank Ben Sulayem for his return to the body.

He is not expected to remain beyond the current FIA presidential term, which ends after elections in December. Due to the structure of FIA rules, Ben Sulayem is set to stand unopposed for re-election, as no other candidate has been able to assemble the necessary list of vice-presidential nominees.

In response to questions from BBC Sport, an FIA spokesperson said the organisation “remains politically neutral” and that all council members “serve in an individual capacity.”

“The FIA has a longstanding commitment to upholding motor sport’s neutrality,” the statement said. “Its decision to allow all elected members, regardless of nationality, to continue serving their terms is consistent with the approach of other international sports bodies.”

The spokesperson also highlighted Article 1.2 of the FIA Statutes, which commits the governing body to promoting human rights and equality, adding that it seeks to ensure “a more diverse and inclusive culture” within global motorsport.