WADA Suspends Approved Status Of Moscow Anti-Doping Lab

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2020) The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced on Wednesday that it had provisionally suspended the WADA-approved status of the Moscow National Anti-Doping Laboratory (Moscow Laboratory) with immediate effect, pending formal disciplinary action.

"This provisional suspension prohibits the Moscow Laboratory from carrying out any work related to the analysis of blood samples in connection with the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) program and will remain in place pending disciplinary proceedings to be carried out by an independent Disciplinary Committee," WADA said in a statement.

According to the statement, "during the period of suspension, all ABP samples collected prior to the date of the provisional suspension may be analyzed by the Moscow Laboratory and the laboratory will need to contact all relevant Testing Authorities to determine whether any stored ABP samples need to be transported to a WADA-accredited or ABP-approved laboratory for further analysis."

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was recognized as not complying with the global anti-doping code at a meeting of the WADA Executive Committee in December last year.