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Anti-doping body's allegations against Russia’s VTB damages bank’s reputation — executive

The bank's CEO earlier said that VTB had been in preparations of lawsuits against 10 members of WADA, which earlier recommended a probe into bank’s membership in the IAAF’s sponsorship pool

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Recent allegations made by the Independent Commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) damaged the reputation of Russia’s leading state-controlled lender VTB Bank, Vasily Titov, the bank’s first deputy chairman, told TASS on Friday.

Andrey Kostin, the head of the bank, announced earlier in the day that VTB Bank had been in preparations of lawsuits against 10 members of WADA, which earlier recommended a probe into bank’s membership in the IAAF’s (International Association of Athletics Federations) sponsorship pool.

"In fact, we do prepare lawsuits against WADA," Titov said in an interview with TASS. "We believe that their statements inflicted damage on the reputation of the bank."

WADA’s Independent Commission published last week its Part 2 report, which says, in particular, that a meeting was held in Moscow in 2012 with the participation of three representatives of the IAAF, including Papa Massata Diack (a son of IAAF’s ex-President Lamine Diack), ex-chief of All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) Valentin Balakhnichev and a Russian television official, which discussed the cost of TV broadcasting rights for the 2013 Athletics Championship estimated at $6 million.

WADA’s report included an allegation concerning the legitimacy of Russian bank VTB sponsorship deal with the IAAF, initially inked in 2007 and extended for two more years in 2013, and the bank’s alleged acquisition of broadcasting rights for the 2013 IAAF World Championship in Moscow.

The Associated Press news agency reported last Thursday that as a result the cost of the broadcasting rights was increased from $6 million to $25 million after agreement between Papa Massata Diack and VTB Bank.