Due to numerous queries from the media in regard to information relating to possible violations in the financial and economic activities of the All-Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), the Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian Paralympic Committee, being the founders/members of the Russian anti-doping organization, consider it necessary to announce the following.
In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and the Charter of RUSADA (clause 6.2.11), the collegial body of RUSADA, namely, the General Meeting of RUSADA Members (the Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian Paralympic Committee), is responsible for the annual approval (appointment) of an audit organization to conduct auditing of the financial and economic activities of RUSADA.
In violation of the established rules, the audit organization that verified the annual accounting (financial) statements of RUSADA for the year 2018 was not approved in the manner prescribed by the Charter and the applicable legislative acts.
Bypassing the established procedure, RUSADA’s administration submitted for approval to the General Meeting (held on April 30, 2019) the issue of appointing an audit organization for 2018 retroactively, along with the issue of approving the accounting (financial) statements of RUSADA for 2018 and the corresponding auditor’s report, which was not agreed upon or approved by the decision of the General Meeting.
It should be noted that the audit organization initially selected by the Director General of RUSADA was not even included in the top hundred audit organizations of Russia.
Taking into account the above circumstances and considering that during a preliminary examination of the audit report submitted by RUSADA, the ROC and the RPC had reasonable doubts about its entirety and reliability. Consequently, the General Meeting of RUSADA Members refused to approve the information submitted by the audit organization chosen by Yuri Ganus and the presented audit report.
Furthermore, the founders/members of RUSADA and the Director General of RUSADA Yuri Ganus, with assistance from the Chairman of RUSADA’s Supervisory Board Alexander Ivlev, who is one of the leading Russian experts in the field of auditing and consulting, began the process of selecting an authoritative and independent audit organization to verify the financial and economic activities of RUSADA for the period 2018-2019.
The principal position of the Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian Paralympic Committee was to select one of the largest and most respected audit organizations in Russia, included into the top ten list.
To this end, proposals were sent to all the largest audit organizations in the Russian Federation. Given the need for a comprehensive audit of the two-year period of RUSADA’s activities and the tight deadlines set forth in the terms of reference, several audit organizations stated that it would be impossible to conduct an audit due to lack of time in the pre-agreed schedule of inspections, while other organizations put forward inspection dates that did not suit the founders/members of RUSADA.
The company FinExpertiza was the only audit organization that fully complied with all the necessary requirements in regard to the entirety and time frames of the audit.
The above audit organization has been among the top ten best Russian audit companies for some time and was approved by the Chairman of RUSADA’s Supervisory Board Alexander Ivlev.
On February 19, 2020, by the decision of the supreme governing body of RUSADA – the General Meeting of RUSADA Members, FinExpertiza LLC was appointed as the audit organization in order to conduct an audit of the financial and economic activities of RUSADA during the period 2018-2019.
As already noted, in accordance with the Charter of RUSADA, the approval of an audit organization falls within the exclusive competence of the General Meeting of Members, that is, the powers of the Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian Paralympic Committee.
Considering the social significance of the functions performed by RUSADA as the All-Russian anti-doping organization, and the significant amount of funds allocated to finance the activities of RUSADA from the federal budget, the founders/members of RUSADA made a further decision as part of the financial and economic audit: in addition to the general audit of RUSADA during the period 2018-2019 – to conduct an in-depth audit to assess the operational effectiveness of the functioning of the internal control system in relation to business processes: Remuneration of RUSADA employees, Acquisition of goods, works and services and Product sales.
The audit of financial and economic activities was carried out in full accordance with international audit standards in March-April 2020 under conditions of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to the fact that the in-depth audit of the financial and economic activities of RUSADA was primarily aimed at analyzing the activities of the management of RUSADA, including RUSADA’s Director General, the results of the in-depth audit were handed over directly by the audit organization to the Russian Olympic Committee that had ordered the audit.
Contrary to the assertions of RUSADA’s Director General during his press conference on July 10, 2020, the in-depth audit revealed several significant irregularities in the financial and economic activities of RUSADA.
In line with the Charter of RUSADA, the performance of the Director General of RUSADA is within the exclusive competence of RUSADA’s Supervisory Board, as a result the founders/members of RUSADA (the ROC and the RPC) submitted the results of the audit to RUSADA’s Supervisory Board, which should consider the presented materials, analyze and evaluate their content, as well as the nature of the violations identified, and release an official response within the scope of its mandate.
The Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian Paralympic Committee fully trust the level of competence and professionalism of the members of the Supervisory Board and its Chairman Alexander Ivlev and will expect the recommendations of the Supervisory Board following a meeting on evaluating the results of the audit.
