Anders Besseberg, the former president of the International Biathlon Union, was found guilty of nine different charges. He plans to appeal his sentence.
Pertti Lappalainen,
Mika Halonen
The Norwegian who led the International Biathlon Union between 1992 and 2018 Anders Besseberg was sentenced to three years and one month in prison in Norway.
The court convicted the former chairman of the IBU of gross corruption. He was found guilty of nine different charges dealing with his time as chairman. Besseberg had accepted watches and the services of prostitutes as bribes, hunting trips to Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic. In addition, he had been using an expensive leasing car paid for by the TV company for years.
Besseberg will also forfeit NOK 1.41 million in proceeds of crime.
Originally, the prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of three years and seven months for Besseberg, confiscation of property for 1.45 Norwegian kroner and a fine of one million kroner. The 78-year-old Besseberg will not have to pay the fine that Økokrim, i.e. Norway’s economic crime investigation agency, demanded of him.
Besseberg plans to appeal his sentence.
– Of course, I am disappointed and surprised by the verdict and partly by the reasons, the Norwegian media reported that Besseberg said after the verdict.
Norwegian newspaper VG’s crime reporter Øystein Milli described Besseberg’s sentence as crushing.
– Almost a total loss for Besseberg and almost a complete victory for the prosecutor. If the verdict remains valid, it will be completely devastating for Besseberg’s legacy, Milli told VG.
In 2017, Besseberg began to be investigated by the World Anti-Doping Agency Wada. In the same autumn, the Austrian police became interested in the matter. The French Le Monde wrote that Besseberg received a briefcase of money in the summer of 2013 as compensation for covering up the dubious test results of Russian biathletes.
In 2019, the Austrian police transferred part of the investigation to the Norwegian police. Since then, gross corruption has been investigated in Norway, while possible doping fraud has been investigated in Austria.
The trial dealt with Besseberg’s corruption crimes, but not the doping allegations. The Austrian police’s investigation into Besseberg’s suspected actions in doping circles is still ongoing.
The trial about Besseberg has received enormous attention in the fjord region. Norwegian TV2 expert Mads Kaggestad said at the beginning of the year that the trial is completely exceptional.
– This is something we have not seen in Norway. This is about corruption at the international level.
– This is the most serious case in Norwegian sports history.