International Swimming Federation (FINA) has announced that it is investigating Russia’s Evgeny Rylov after the swimmer competed in his country’s national championships despite getting a nine-month ban only four days before.

FINA suspended the two-time Olympic champion on April 21 for attending a rally organized by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in March.

The gathering marked the eighth anniversary of Russia’s takeover of Crimea, which the Ukrainian government considers unlawful and is not recognized by the West.

“FINA is aware that Mr. Rylov competed in the Russian Championships this weekend and has initiated an internal investigation to determine whether FINA sanctions or rules were violated,” the organization said in a statement to an International news website.

“The outcome of this review will be announced as soon as possible.”

Rylov, a gold medalist in the 100m and 200m backstrokes at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, announced in March that he would not compete in the world championships, which will be held from June 18 to July 3, in solidarity with banned Russian competitors.

FINA was one of the few sports governing bodies still permitting Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when Rylov announced his reluctance to attend the world championships.

Following Rylov’s revelation, FINA confirmed that Russian and Belarussian swimmers and officials would be unable to compete in this year’s global swimming championships in Budapest, Hungary.

FINA announced last Thursday that Russian and Belarussian athletes and officials will be barred from participating in any FINA competitions for the rest of 2022.

Belarus serves as an important staging area for the assault.