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Wada revealed details of a state-sponsored doping programme<\/a> in 2015, and declared the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.<\/p>\n But Wada’s executive committee voted\u202fto reinstate Rusada<\/a> in September 2018, subject to a number of strict conditions.<\/p>\n The move was condemned in some circles at the time with one critic calling it “the greatest treachery against clean athletes in Olympic history”.<\/a><\/p>\n However Wada said that move directly led to their retrieval of 24 terabytes of data from the Moscow lab in\u202fJanuary and April 2019.<\/p>\n “The decision taken in 2018 to reinstate Rusada under strict conditions – despite opposition from a vocal minority of critics – was made precisely in order to get to the truth and formed part of a sophisticated investigative strategy,” Banka added, external<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n “Without that decision, we would never have been able to obtain the critical evidence from the Moscow laboratory needed to prosecute these cases. <\/p>\n “I am pleased to say that history has shown this approach to be effective and that the entire process has been a remarkable success in ensuring fairness for athletes around the world.”<\/p>\n While investigating the retrieved material, it was established that some of the data had been manipulated<\/a>, which ultimately led to Russia being handed a four-year ban from all major sporting events<\/a> in 2019.<\/p>\n Russia’s doping ban ended in 2023, though its teams and competitors were banned by multiple international sporting bodies following the invasion of Ukraine.<\/a><\/p>\n Some organisations have begun to allow Russia’s athletes to compete under their flag<\/a> in recent months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n