Russian tycoon slams allegations by US attorney for WADA informant

Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov has vowed to continue supporting a libel suit of three national female biathletes against former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov, despite recent warnings from Russian whistleblowers US lawyer James Walden to launch a countersuit.

In late February, three Russian biathletes Olga Zaytseva, Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova filed a lawsuit with a court in New York against Rodchenkov accusing him of defamation and destroying their careers, reports Tass news agency.

Prokhorov pledged to render the necessary support, including the financial assistance, to the lawsuit submitted by the Russian biathletes in the United States, which sheltered Rodchenkov.

Last week, Yahoo News reported citing a letter from Walden to Prokhorov, dated as of February 23, that the US lawyer for Rodchenkov threatened the Russian billionaire businessman with a "countersuit aimed at exposing the Russian government's efforts to harass and intimidate his client in the United States".

The letter from Walden stated in particular that the support by Prokhorov lawsuit appeared "to be intended not to vindicate any actual wrongs committed against the plaintiffs, but instead to intimidate or retaliate against a whistleblower".

In his letter to Walden, a copy of which was exclusively provided to Tass, Prokhorov replied: "It occurs to me that a person of your profession and education would have more integrity than to suggest that the lawsuit I am helping to finance against your client is intended to 'retaliate or intimidate a whistleblower'."

"I believe in the three plaintiffs who are suing Rodchenkov for libel," Prokhorov stated in his letter. "From everything I know and observed during their time in biathlon, they were clean, and this is why I am helping them clear their names. My only motivation to help the athletes is because I believe in their innocence."

"I am astounded that you would be critical of anyone wanting to have their day in court and be judged based on the evidence presented," according to Prokhorov. "I believe in the American justice system and, as a lawyer, I would expect that you do too."

Prokhorov also wrote to Walden that he had been always fighting against the abuse of banned performance enhancing drugs in sports, including his time of the presidency in the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) between 2008 and 2014, while Rodchenkov admitted to be behind a covert doping scheme during his work in Russia.

"Whatever else he might be, your client has acknowledged that he ran a covert doping ring intended to sell banned substances to athletes for personal profit and also to replace athletes' samples with no remorse whatsoever," Prokhorov wrote to Walden. "This does not make him a hero whose every word must be taken as the truth. To the contrary, his own admitted history of lies and deception cries out for a robust challenge to his allegations."

"My team was recognised twice by the International Biathlon Union for achievements including work on anti-doping," Prokhorov wrote. "We conducted some 4,000 tests, including a separate contract for 250 tests that were not required by international standards, that resulted in our ejecting 10 athletes from the sport during my time at the RBU. Catching violators was, plain and simple, a top priority."

--IANS

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