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 The email suggesting a "special dossier" on Russian drugs cheats was
from IAAF deputy general secretary Nick Davies to Papa Massata
Diack, the son of former president Lamine Diack, who then worked for
the sport's governing body as a marketing consultant.
Both Diacks are under investigation over corruption offences, while
Russian athletes are currently banned from the sport following
revelations of widespread, state-sponsored doping.
The report also criticized the governing body for its
"laissez-faire" attitude to the problem. Though the extent of
Russian doping is now out in the open, the IAAF were seemingly
fighting to keep a lid on it two years ago.
Extracts from the "very secret" email published by French newspaper
Le Monde, but not verified by Reuters, said: "I need to be able to
sit down with the anti-doping department and understand exactly what
Russian 'skeletons' we have still in the cupboard regarding doping.
"I think that the time to have unveiled the various athletes was a
long time ago and that now we need to be smart.
"We can prepare a special dossier on IAAF testing which will show
that one of the reasons why these Russian athletes come up positive
is that they get tested a lot."
The email, which was sent in July 2013, a month before the Moscow
world championships, also suggested that CSM, the sports marketing
firm chaired by IAAF president Sebastian Coe (then a vice-president)
could be used as part of an "unofficial PR campaign" to fend off
negative stories in the British media.
It also said the IAAF could benefit from Coe's political influence
in Britain to minimize the damage any revelations might cause.
Davies, who now works as Coe's chief of staff, issued a statement on
Monday denying any wrong-doing.
"As Director of IAAF Communications it was one of my
responsibilities to manage and promote the reputation of the IAAF,"
he said.
"My email to Papa Massata Diack was brain storming around media
handling strategies to deal with the serious challenges we were
facing around the image of the event.
"No plan was implemented following that email and there is no
possibility any media strategy could ever interfere with the conduct
of the anti-doping process.
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"I did not discuss these ideas with CSM and there has never been any
agreement between the IAAF and CSM for any PR campaigns. CSM has
never worked for the IAAF in any capacity since Sebastian Coe joined
the company," Davies said.
Last week Le Monde published allegations that Lamine Diack had
sought money from Russia to be used to fund a political campaign in
his native Senegal. Davies denied any knowledge of such dealings,
which Diack has also denied, or any other criminal wrongdoing within
the organization.
Diack is being investigated on charges that he asked for payment
from Russian athletes to cover up positive dope tests.
"I had no knowledge in 2013 that IAAF officials might be involved in
alleged criminal conduct in relation to doping cases, nor am I aware
of any doping case that was not brought that should have been
brought, or of any doping ban that was not published when it should
have been published under the IAAF rules," Davies said.
"When information concerning alleged corruption was brought to my
attention in early 2014, I was one of a number of IAAF staff members
who referred the matter to the IAAF Ethics Commission and who have
assisted in the resulting investigation by the Commission.
"I was also one of those staff members who voluntarily offered full
assistance to investigators of the WAD Independent Commission as
well as to the French and Monegasque Police Authorities and will
continue to do so."
(Editing by: Peter Rutherford and Paul Tait)
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