The US Department of Justice has begun an investigation into the possible use of doping by Russian athletes, The New York Times reports, citing its sources.

Coat of arms of the US Department of Justice (Photo: Matt Slocum/AP)

As two sources familiar with the situation told the publication, the prosecutor's office for the Eastern District of New York is studying information that any of the Russian officials, athletes, coaches and representatives of anti-doping services could be involved in doping. However, no details of the investigation are provided.

The publication indicates that US federal authorities have the right to open a case against a foreigner if the offense has something to do with the States. We are talking, for example, about a situation in which an American bank appears.

A source from The New York Times indicates that one of those whose activities the prosecutor's office is studying is Grigory Rodchenkov, who previously stated that he was involved in the use of doping in Russian sports.

On May 12, The New York Times published an article citing a statement by the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, Rodchenkov, now working in the United States, that Russian athletes used doping during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi , which resulted in Russia taking first place in the overall team competition. .

Rodchenkov claimed that he himself developed a mixture of three banned drugs, mixed them with alcohol and gave them to athletes. The official claimed that he personally participated in the substitution of urine samples of athletes who were supposed to be sent for doping tests.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko called the information published in an American newspaper absurd. The Kremlin called the statements of the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory ” “slander of a defector .

Meanwhile, on May 17, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Craig Reedy issued a statement that his organization “is fully committed to investigating the additional allegations reported by CBS 60 Minutes and the New York Times, and to publicly reporting its conclusions."

Earlier, Reedy, commenting on publications in the American media, called Rodchenkov’s words “an unfounded statement,” but pointed out that in any case, this is “not very good news for Russia.”

The US Department of Justice launched an investigation after articles about doping in Russian sports