The Investigative Committee of Russia (SC) said it had data according to which the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov handed over to the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA a modified version of the electronic archive of the laboratory. This was reported by TASS on Saturday, December 21.
“The facts of a remote visit done by the previous management of the Anti-Doping Center in 2015-2016 to the LIMS electronic database containing information on the results of the study of doping samples from IP addresses registered and located in the United States and Germany (the protocol of visits with dates, time and duration of work) were confirmed in LIMS was handed to WADA representatives in January of this year)”, – the agency quotes the official representative Svetlana Petrenko.
According to Petrenko, the evidence obtained by the investigation confirmed that Rodchenkov or other persons made changes to the database of the results of doping tests of Russian athletes.
In addition, the agency also has information that the former head of the Moscow laboratory transferred to WADA, as part of the cooperation, some alternative electronic archive of the laboratory, data truth of which has not been established.
The UK expressed its readiness to work together with law enforcement agencies and sports organizations of other countries in studying the base of Moscow anti-doping laboratory.
On December 9, the WADA Executive Committee stripped Russia of its right to participate in major international sports events for four years. Russia is forbidden to accept international tournaments and submit applications for their holding. Also, Russian Anti-Doping Agency is deprived of compliance status.
On December 11, a board meeting of the Russian Ministry of Sports was held in Moscow. The head of the department Pavel Kolobkov in his course said that Russia has every reason to challenge the decision of the executive committee of an international organization.
In 2016, the ex-head of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), Grigory Rodchenkov, who fled to the USA, spoke on the New York Times about doping violations of Russian athletes at the Olympic Games in Sochi. As a result of the investigation, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee found 43 Russian athletes guilty of violating anti-doping rules.