A court in Moscow has seized assets of former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov, who is currently under investigation on charges of abuse of power, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax.
“Rodchenkov’s property has already been seized in Russia,” the source said.
In August, law enforcement agencies conducted a series of searches and confiscated documents as part of the inquiry opened against Rodchenkov, he said.
“He still faces charges of abuse of power [Article 201 of the Russian Penal Code],” he said.
Moscow’s Basmanny Court subsequently confirmed that Rodchenkov’s assets had been seized.
“The court ruled in favor of investigative authorities’ petition seeking the seizure of Grigory Rodchenkov’s land plot,” court spokesperson Yunona Tsaryova told Interfax.
A ruling to seize Rodchenkov’s property was issued on August 12, she said.
Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said earlier the committee had information that former director of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory Rodchenkov, acting as the author and organizer of illegal schemes, had distributed banned medical substances procured in the U.S.
The Russian Investigative Committee’s main investigations department is investigating a criminal case opened against Rodchenkov and people who performed managerial functions in the public organization All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) in 2009-2013.
Markin said on August 23 the Russian Investigative Committee believed that Rodchenkov may have destroyed Russian athletes’ doping samples on instructions from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) executives.
“Rodchenkov administratively reported only to the World Anti-Doping Agency. Therefore, the investigation has grounds to presume that he may have received an instruction to destroy doping samples from some of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s leaders. And this theory will be considered among others,” Markin said.
According to media reports, Rodchenkov currently resides in the United States.
The New York Times wrote on May 12, referring to Rodchenkov, that dozens of Russian athletes, including 15 winners of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, were allegedly using doping substances while the former head of the Moscow laboratory was allegedly helping replace their doping test samples. The testimony given by Rodchenkov was also used during the WADA’s investigation into doping in Russia.
