A statement on the IWF website reports that Akkaev's sample, taken prior to competition in London the IWF has confirmed, has returned with traces of the banned substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, also known as turinabol.

Akkaev was set to compete in the 105 kilograms event in London, but failed to recover from back surgery in time to compete.

"In line with the relevant rules and regulations, the IWF imposed mandatory provisional suspension upon the athlete, who remains provisionally suspended in view of a potential anti-doping rule violation until the case is closed," said the IWF statement.

"Following the issuance of the IOC’s respective decision, the IWF will be in a position to take over the results management of the case.

"Should it be determined that no anti-doping rule violation was committed, the relevant decision shall also be published."

In November, Akkaev was one of 16 athletes to be sanctioned by the IOC following positive retests from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The 31-year-old won the bronze medal in the Chinese capital in the 94kg category but was later stripped of his prize after his sample then also tested positive for turinabol.

The IWF has said it will not make any further comment on the case until it is closed.

Akkaev, who won the World and European championships titles in 2011, also won silver at Athens 2004.

Earlier this week six weightlifters, including three Chinese Olympic gold medallists, were among athletes to have been disqualified by the IOC as part of the re-testing of samples stored since Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

Cao Lei, Chen Xiexia and Liu Chunhong, gold medallists in the respective women’s 75kg, 48kg and 69kg categories at Beijing 2008, have all been disqualified with all three failing for the prohibited substance GHRP-2 and metabolite (GHRP-2 M2), and Liu also failing for sibutramine.

It means China is facing a ban from international weightlifting competition after the sport's world governing body vowed last year to hand a 12-month suspension to all countries who produced three or more anti-doping rule violations in the combined re-analysis of samples from Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

The three other weightlifters to be disqualified were Turkey’s Sibel Simsek, Azerbaijan’s Intigam Zairov and Armenia’s Norayr Vardanyan.

Simsek, fourth in the women’s 63kg at London 2012, tested positive for prohibited substances turinabol and stanozolol.

Zairov and Vardanyan, who finished sixth and 11^th respectively in the men’s 94kg at London 2012, both failed for turinabol.