"The decision was taken unanimously": the founders of RUSADA fired Ganus from the post of CEO

Director General of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) Yuri Ganus was dismissed from his post. This became known following the results of the general meeting of the founders of the organization, which are the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC). The decision was made based on the recommendation of the agency's supervisory board.

“Having carefully considered all the arguments of our colleagues, the general meeting of the founders of RUSADA decided to accept the recommendations and remove Ganus from office. The decision was made solely on the basis of revealing the facts of violations, ”said ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

Mikhail Bukhanov, a lawyer of the agency, has been appointed acting general director of RUSADA. The election of a new head of the organization should take place in the next six months.

“In accordance with the charter, the organization will select a new general director on a competitive basis. This should happen no later than six months from today. We are confident that RUSADA's operating activities will remain independent, ”said the head of the ROC.

Pozdnyakov noted the legitimacy of the decision and assured that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which had previously expressed concern about the possible dismissal of Ganus, should not have any questions.

“In accordance with all normative documents, with the charter of the organization, all decisions made by the general meeting are completely legitimate and comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation and international standards. The response of any organization must be in the legal framework. We are now exclusively in the legal channel, and all actions of both the supervisory board and the general meeting of founders are legally strictly verified, "Pozdnyakov added.

The hope that the dismissal of Ganus will not affect relations between RUSADA and WADA, was also expressed by the President of the PKR Vladimir Lukin. He noted that the agency has done a great job for his organization.

“I would like the decision to change the leadership not to affect WADA. This was one of the tasks for RUSADA to continue its work, so that the continuity in the team is preserved. We are pleased with the work of RUSADA during this period, they helped us in training athletes and overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus. We thank RUSADA and the CEO, but in the case of Ganus, we are talking about something else. I hope that WADA's assessment will be objective and limited to the issues in question, ”Lukin told RIA Novosti.

Soon after the dismissal of Ganus, it became known about the resignation of the deputy general director of the organization and his main colleague Margarita Pakhnotskaya. She told reporters that she left her post the day before. Sergey Khrychikov, head of the Council of Europe Sports Conventions Department, also left the agency's supervisory board. He previously opposed the dismissal of Ganus.

Ganus was fired on the recommendation of RUSADA's supervisory board on August 5. The reason for this was the results of the audit of the agency for 2018 and 2019. She revealed violations in the financial and economic activities of RUSADA. After analyzing the report, the supervisory board came to the conclusion that it was necessary to remove Ganus from his post, which he held since 2017.

According to Pozdnyakov, the results of the audit were again reviewed by the meeting of founders. He noted that ROC and RPC are responsible for RUSADA and cannot put up with the identified inappropriate expenses.

“As part of its powers, the RUSADA Supervisory Board made a recommendation to the general meeting to remove Ganus from the post of General Director, today we once again familiarized ourselves with the arguments of the Supervisory Board members, listened to the audit company, heard Ganus. At one time, ROC and RPC, as founders, acted as guarantors of RUSADA's subsidies. The ROC and the GPC approve RUSADA's financial statements, thereby being responsible for spending public money. We carefully considered all the arguments and accepted the recommendation of the supervisory board and removed Ganus. The decision was taken unanimously, ”Pozdnyakov recalled.

One of Bukhanov's first steps as the acting head of RUSADA should be an appeal to law enforcement agencies in connection with the activities of his predecessor. They must study the violations identified earlier, the head of the ROC said.

“I would like to inform you that the founders have instructed the acting general director to submit a corresponding statement to the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation,” Pozdnyakov added.