Norwegian police on Monday charged the former president of the International Biathlon Federation (IBU), Norwegian Anders Besseberg, with “aggravated corruption” on suspicion of covering up Russian doping cases in exchange for favors. “There is enough evidence to show that he accepted bribes continuously over a period of ten years,” said Marianne Djupesland, an official of Økokrim, a branch of the police specializing in economic affairs. and environmental.
According to the press release, Anders Besseberg, president of the IBU from 1992 to 2018, accepted “watches, hunting parties and trophies, prostitutes and a leased car” during his term of office. These suspicions, which relate to facts running from 2009 to 2018, echo the conclusions of a damning report published in January 2021 by an independent commission set up by the IBU.
Intense pro-Russian lobbying
The 77-year-old Norwegian denies any wrongdoing. “Besseberg asserts that he never allowed himself to be corrupted and that he did not try to influence the anti-doping work of the IBU in favor of anyone,” said his lawyer, Christian Hjort, quoted by the Norwegian agency NTB.
For its part, the IBU said it “take note” of the indictment of its former president and affirmed “to work closely with Økokrim on this complex file”. In 2021, the IBU’s external audit commission, set up by the Swede Olle Dahlin who had succeeded Besseberg, concluded that the Norwegian had protected Russian interests for many years with the help of his director general, German Nicole Resch. They reportedly directly concealed several doping cases and lobbied intensely in favor of Russia.