WADA to begin audit of Russian anti-doping agency

FILE PHOTO - A woman walks into the head office for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on November 9, 2015. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo Picture Supplied by Action Images

(Reuters) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will begin an audit of Russia's anti-doping programme this week as it prepares to make a recommendation on whether to reinstate the Russian agency, the organisation said on Sunday.

RUSADA has been suspended by WADA since a report published in November 2015, led by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren, found evidence of state-sponsored doping and accused it of systematically violating anti-doping regulations.