Kuwaiti authorities file $1 billion lawsuit against IOC
Kuwaiti authorities have lodged a $1 billion (£804 million/€916 million) lawsuit against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for suspending the country in the Lausanne Civil Court, insidethegames has been told.
This comes after a "parallel" Kuwait Olympic Committee (KOC) was threatened with legal action by the IOC for violating branding rules.
It marks another escalation of a row which saw Kuwait suspended from the IOC and barred from August's Rio Olympic Games due to Government interference.
A new sports law granted by the Sports Ministry, with the power to take over all sports bodies and National Federations, as well as being able to control decisions including appointments and financial matters, prompted the suspension.
Sheikh Fahad Jaber Alali Al Sabah was duly appointed President of the parallel body, which calls itself the Kuwait Olympic Committee (KOC).
But the IOC threatened legal action if they did not cease to use Olympic branding and the NOC name.
insidethegames has been told, however, that the legal action filed this week used Olympic branding as well as the KOC label.