A completely extraordinary legal scandal in Norwegian sports history took a new turn when the former president of the International Biathlon Union Anders Besseberg was sentenced for gross corruption to three years and one month in prison.
During his time as chairman, he was found to have accepted, for example, watches, a leasing car and the services of prostitutes as bribes. Besseberg plans to appeal his sentence.
Worked as an operations inspector for the International Biathlon Union Juha Viertola says that there have been rumors about Besseberg’s activities for a long time.
– Even when I was being selected as an operations inspector, my predecessors reported on hunting trips and the car issue to the IBU General Assembly, but there was no desire to react to these reports, Viertola reveals.
The task of operational auditors in organizations is to audit administration and financial statements. For example, in cases of corruption, bribes do not, of course, usually appear in official papers.
Viertola says that in addition to operational auditors, IBU’s administration and accounts have also been audited by an internationally operating auditing firm.
– As a result, corruption has not been detected. Official audits and operational audits do not show or highlight such things. When talking about corruption, police investigative work and means are required, says Viertola.
According to him, there has been information on some level about Besseberg’s activities in the past, but there has not been any factual information that would appear, for example, from the IBU’s administration or accounts.
– With the exception of the agreement regarding this car, because we also had it to see and were also informed about it at the IBU General Assembly, Viertola states.
Besseberg had been using an expensive leasing car paid for by the TV company free of charge for years. He was also found guilty of taking a bribe for the car.
The biathlon community was surprised
The Besseberg trial has garnered enormous attention. Top Norwegian lawyer and auditor Gunnar Holm Ringen told For the Norwegian public broadcasting company NRKthat there have been around 90–100 corruption cases in court in Norway in the last 20 years.
Besseberg’s sentence is among the harshest. In the field of sports, no corruption cases have been seen in court.
– This is a very special sentence in Norway, because it concerns the high-profile sports director of an international organization, Holm Ringen told NRK.
Swedish biathlon legend and current SVT expert Bjorn Ferry said frankly that he was pleasantly surprised by the verdict.
– I thought he would be acquitted, but it is quite clear that he is guilty, Ferry uploaded to SVT.
His compatriot and an active athlete of the sport Sebastian Samuelsson also told NRK that he was worried about Besseberg’s release.
– I think it has been very clear what has happened, but it is difficult for me to say what meets the requirements of the law, Samuelsson reflected to NRK.
Also NRK’s current expert and former award winner Synnöve Solemdal revealed that he was surprised by the verdict. He said he was very unsure whether Besseberg would be convicted at all.
– Three years is a long time, but I think it’s right, Solemdal assesses.
There are still plenty of ambiguities
The world anti-doping agency Wada began to investigate Besseberg for possible doping ambiguities already in 2017. He is suspected, for example, of looking past Russian doping violations. The Austrian police’s investigation into Besseberg’s suspected actions in doping circles is still ongoing.
The trial that took place now dealt with Besseberg’s corruption crimes, but not doping ambiguities.
According to Viertola, Besseberg’s case shows in a sad way what has happened and can happen behind the scenes of sports.
– Interests in sports are great, in which case one tries to influence the decision-makers in order to pursue one’s own interests, Viertola reflects.
He regrets that in Besseberg’s case the process has taken so long.
When talking about international activities and corruption, investigating things is not easy for police authorities.
– It requires close international cooperation. It’s good that at least this first level of justice has finally been dealt with, Viertola concludes.