In a comment to ERR, Hansjörg Mayr, a spokesperson for the Innsbruck Prosecutor's Office, confirmed Veerpalu had been charged with sports fraud.

Karel Tammjärv, who was also detained at the World Cup in Seefeld, has previously been charged.

Both Veerpalu and Tammjärv have been banned from international competitions after using blood doping. They also used a growth hormone for doping purposes, the International Ski Federation (FIS) revealed earlier this year. Former ski coach Mati Alaver has accepted all charges against him.

At the Ski World Championships in Seefeld, Austria last February, Austrian police conducted an operation in which several cross-country skiers were detained on suspicion of blood doping. 

At the same time, German police searched the office of Mark Schmidt, a sports doctor suspected of doping, in Erfurt, Germany. 

Based on the findings, criminal investigations were launched in Germany, Austria and Estonia. Three of the skiers involved were Estonians from the Team Haanja team, which was created in 2015 by Mati Alaver.

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