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Reuters
Yuri Ganus was named three years ago after a series of Russian doping scandals
Russia fired its national anti-doping agency’s outspoken head, Rusada, after the country’s Olympic Committee accused him of presiding over serious financial violations.
Yuri Ganus, who denied the allegations, said he was being removed because of his zero tolerance approach to doping.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has raised concerns about his dismissal.
Three years ago, Mr. Ganus was commissioned to clean up Russian sport after several doping scandals.
He took a tough approach, increasing the sampling of athletes and declining a request for a five-minute warning when inspectors were out.
BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford said his reforms and principles had angered some, and last December he told the BBC that he had received death threats. His dismissal could jeopardize Russian efforts to end a ban on its athletes’ participation in international events, she added.
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Stanislav Pozdnyakov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, told reporters the decision to fire Mr. Ganus was unanimous.
“We are sure that Rusada’s operations will remain independent,” he said.
Mikhail Bukhanov, an attorney at Rusada, will serve as deputy head until a new director is appointed, added Pozdnyakov.
Wada said she contacted the Russian authorities to clarify Mr. Ganus’s departure.
“It is a crucial element of the World Anti-Doping Code that national anti-doping organizations like Rusada are protected from interference in their operational decisions and activities in order to be able to carry out their work independently and effectively,” said the agency in a statement.
Last year, the Wada Compliance Review Committee declared Rusada non-compliant because of inconsistencies in a key database of test results from athletes.
Mr. Ganus later confirmed that someone had changed or deleted “thousands” of entries.
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