MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Russia’s leading state-controlled lender VTB Bank is preparing lawsuits against 10 members of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which earlier recommended a probe into bank’s membership in the IAAF’s (International Association of Athletics Federations) sponsorship pool, Andrey Kostin, the head of the bank, told Rossiya-24 television channel on Friday.
"I have decided that I cannot tolerate this anymore, although I am accustomed to many things in my life," Kostin said. "I have issued relevant orders to my lawyers. We are preparing lawsuits at the moment."
"We will be filing lawsuits against all 10 ‘passengers,’ who signed their names under the reports of the [WADA Independent] Commission," he said. "We will see them in court. At the moment we are trying to decide on the jurisdiction for the lawsuits as there are nationals from Canada, the United States and Europe."
"We will make them feel nervous and go to courts to show responsibility for their words," Kostin said. "Because it is simply not good tarnishing the image of Russia and of Russian companies just for nothing."
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.
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.