RUSADA will start the process of selecting a director general in December ©Getty Images

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) is set to begin the process of selecting a new director general in December following the dismissal of Yuri Ganus in August.

Ganus was sacked as RUSADA director general after a recommendation was approved by the Russian Olympic Committee and Russian Paralympic Committee.

The recommendation to dismiss Ganus had been made by the RUSADA Supervisory Board following an audit which allegedly revealed a "number of significant irregularities in the financial and economic activities" of the organisation.

Supervisory Board chairman Alexander Ivlev has revealed a Commission to find a replacement for Ganus is currently being set up and will start the selection process in December, as reported by Russian news agency TASS. 

A replacement is expected to be named by February. 

The decision to sack Ganus prompted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations (iNADO) to express concern over the independence of RUSADA.

RUSADA acting general director Mikhail Bukhanov claimed, however, that the organisation is still working closely with WADA and iNADO, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yuri Ganus was sacked as RUSADA director general after claims of financial irregularities ©Getty Images
Yuri Ganus was sacked as RUSADA director general after claims of financial irregularities ©Getty Images

"There is no talk of any isolation," Bukhanov said.

"On testing and helping them work in a pandemic.

"Not so long ago, we hosted an online conference of iNADO, where, among other things, ethics and responsibility were discussed."

WADA is monitoring developments at RUSADA, which has appealed a four-year package of sanctions imposed on the country as punishment for the manipulation of data at the Moscow Laboratory.

Ganus, who was appointed as RUSADA director general in 2017, oversaw WADA's controversial reinstatement of RUSADA after it was declared non-compliant in 2015.

RUSADA was again declared non-compliant by WADA last December after the country was found to have manipulated the Moscow Laboratory data.

Among the sanctions WADA has imposed on RUSADA is a ban on the Russian flag flying at the Olympic Games or any World Championships, with the country also set to be stripped of any World Championships it has been awarded.

The sanctions will not come into force until the Court of Arbitration for Sport has rendered its final decision.

Hearings in the case are set to be held between November 2 and 5.