The Kuwait Olympic Committee was again suspended on 27 October 2015 by the IOC to protect the Olympic movement in Kuwait from undue Kuwaiti government interference and corruption. As a result of this suspension, participation by athletes from Kuwait at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was allowed by the IOC in a special team named "Independent Olympic Athletes" (code: IOA) under the Olympic flag. In response to the Olympics suspension, Kuwait filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the IOC. The Kuwaiti government responded to the Olympics suspension in an official press release: