The Russian Investigative Committee received evidence that the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory's former chief, Grigory Rodchenkov, manipulated data on Russian sportsmen doping tests, the committee's spokeswoman, Svetlana Petrenko, said on Saturday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2019) The Russian Investigative Committee received evidence that the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory's former chief, Grigory Rodchenkov, manipulated data on Russian sportsmen doping tests, the committee's spokeswoman, Svetlana Petrenko, said on Saturday.
"The committee carried out a computer forensic examination of the copies of the transferred [to WADA experts] electronic files, according to which, they [the files] were found authentic, as well as there were no manipulations of the initial file structure of the Russian athletes' test results," Petrenko said in a statement.
According to the statement, at the same time, the committee confirmed facts of remote access by the former leadership of the laboratory in 2015-2016 to the LIMS data that contains information on the test results.
The committee also added that WADA had claimed on manipulations of data in the laboratory in 20118-2019, while everyone had access to it due to the anti-doping center's permanent operation.
"All evidence obtained by the committee indicates that Rodchenkov and other unidentified people intentionally introduced changes to the data to manipulate parameters and indicators of doping samples of Russian athletes," the spokeswoman said.
According to the committee, foreign partners did not allow the Russian investigative body to examine LIMS data that contains information on the test results and was provided by Rodchenkov, as well as to question him on the matter.
On December 9, WADA unanimously voted to ban Russia from participating in and hosting any major sporting events as punishment for what it said were serious manipulations and deletions of data in athlete test results under WADA investigation.
