Russia doping crisis: Interpol's role in scandal is to co-ordinate the inquires of its member countries

Senior police chiefs from key nations will be invited to meet and share details of alleged corruption, money laundering and criminal conspiracy

Valentin Balakhnichev, former head of the Russian Athletics Federation, waves the IAAF flag at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu (Getty Images)

Russian police could be given detailed intelligence about the corrupt role of members of the country’s athlete-doping programme despite senior officials dismissing the claims as “politically motivated” and threatening to scupper its testing regime, it has emerged.

The 323-page report by anti-doping investigators released on Monday contained Russia’s role in a “state-sponsored” programme of cheating – but left out specific details of criminality to prevent interference in multinational inquiries co-ordinated by Interpol.

Russia is one of six countries – including Britain and the United States – where crimes appear to have taken place, according to the report by the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The criminal investigations followed a German TV documentary which claimed Russian athletes were forced to pay up to prevent them being exposed as drugs cheats. It said that then IAAF treasurer and senior Russian athletics official Valentin Balakhnichev was personally responsible for extortion and transfer of funds to a bank account in Singapore.

Evidence of “corruption and bribery practices at the highest levels of international athletics” has been passed to Interpol, which does not carry out its own inquiries but farms them out to its 190 member countries. The commission said Interpol, which will operate as an intelligence and coordination hub, will receive “considerable data” and information.

It said: “Until the proper authorities have decided whether to lay criminal charges, the IC [independent commission] will not make public the contents of that chapter of the report, so as not to interfere with the ongoing investigations regarding such conduct.”

Senior police chiefs from key countries will be invited by Interpol to meet and share details of alleged corruption, money laundering and criminal conspiracy under Operation Augeas to investigate in their own countries.

It means that Russia, a 25-year member of the policing organisation, is likely to be invited to see details of the claims before they are eventually published. “Over the next few weeks, we will be sending out messages to countries,” said an Interpol spokeswoman.

The lead in the investigations into the IAAF has been taken by France which has placed three senior figures under formal investigation.They include the former IAAF president Lamine Diack – who was accused of pocketing more than €1m (£700,000) from the alleged cash-for-silence scheme – and the former head of its anti-doping department.

The commission report said its inquiries appeared to show laws had been broken in France, Monaco, Singapore, the UK, the US and “very likely” within Russia. The National Crime Agency said it was not aware of any crime involving the UK.

The inquiry follows other high-profile international investigations co-ordinated by Interpol including the inquiry into doping allegations by Lance Armstrong. The disgraced cyclist was finally held to account after media revelations and a robust investigation by anti-doping authorities in the United States. Such strong action by Russian appeared unlikely after its sports minister criticised the report, threatened to withhold all money for drug-testing programmes and claimed that his country was being persecuted.