Five Former RusAF Officials - Including Former President - Guilty of Anti-doping Rule Violations, Banned for Four Years

17 February 2021, Monaco: The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) welcomes the decision by the

Disciplinary Tribunal to uphold all charges laid by the AIU against the former Russian Athletics

Federation (RusAF) President Dmitry Shlyakhtin and the former RusAF Board Member Artur

Karamyan.

In November 2019, the AIU charged RusAF and several RusAF officials including Shlyakhtin

and Karamyan, Alexander Parkin (Executive Director), Elena Orlova (Senior Administrator),

and Elena Ikonnikova (Anti-Doping Coordinator), with serious breaches of the Anti-Doping

Rules. This was related to the submission of forged documents and false explanations to the

AIU and their conduct during a 15-month AIU investigation into a ‘whereabouts’ case against

Russian high jumper, Danil Lysenko. The athlete and his coach Evgeniy Zagorulko were also

charged.

The Disciplinary Tribunal has found Shlyakhtin and Karamyan guilty of tampering, complicity,

failing to report an Anti-Doping Rule violation, and failing to co-operate with the AIU

investigation, (in this context Karamyan was found to have destroyed documents). Both

Shlyakhtin and Karamyan have been banned for four years, the maximum possible sanction

for these charges under the Anti-Doping Rules. The Disciplinary Tribunal decision can be

found here.

Parkin, Orlova, and Ikonnikova did not contest the AIU charges against them for tampering,

complicity, failing to report an Anti-Doping Rule violation, and failing to co-operate with the

AIU investigation and have also been banned for four years. Those decisions can be found

here.

The sanctions against Orlova and Ikkonikova will be served concurrently with sanctions of six

and eight years respectively which were previously announced for cases of failure to comply

with an investigation Demand by the AIU, as well an order of the Chair of the Disciplinary

Tribunal that they comply with the Demand. The cases against Lysenko and his coach

Zagorulko are still in process.

The charge against the Federation was referred to the World Athletics Council in January

2020. RusAF admitted the charges and was dealt with by the Council. The details can be read

here.

"These are important decisions for the sport of athletics. The AIU was created to be a fearless

and independent organisation. Our work in uncovering the conspiracy and fraudulent

behaviour in this case demonstrates that the AIU is fulfilling its role to make cheats

accountable, irrespective of their stature or standing," commented AIU Chair David Howman.

"Traditional approaches to uncovering cheating have often proven to be inadequate and

that’s why the AIU made the strategic choice of investing heavily in our investigations and

intelligence capability. The benefit of this approach is evident from decisions like these,"

added Howman.

During the final phase of investigation, between April and November 2019, the AIU conducted

22 key witness interviews; acquired 14 electronic storage devices including mobile phones

and computer hard drives, conducted digital forensic analysis of over six terabytes of

electronic data and translated approximately 7000 documents or records from Russian to

English.

About the Athletics Integrity Unit

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is the independent body created by the World Athletics that

manages all integrity issues – both doping and non-doping – for the sport of athletics. The

remit of the AIU includes anti-doping, the pursuit of individuals engaged in age or competition

results manipulation, investigating fraudulent behaviour with regards to transfers of allegiance,

and detecting other misconduct including bribery and breaches of betting rules. It is the AIU’s

role to drive cheats out of our sport, and to do everything within its power to support honest

athletes around the world who dedicate their lives to reaching their sporting goals through

dedication and hard work.

Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only