Must have had hunting trips and prostitutes – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

– In our opinion, the evidence indicates that Anders Besseberg always preferred and protected Russian interests in almost everything he did. That of a man, who in our opinion, has no ethical values ​​or interest in protecting a pure sport, he said in the conclusion in the investigation report which was presented Thursday morning.

The case is as follows: the former president of the International Biathlon Federation (IBU) was charged and charged with corruption and helping Russia hide doping.

Since April 2018, the Austrian and Norwegian police have been investigating allegations of doping, fraud and corruption within the IBU. Ecocrime informs NRK that Besseberg is accused of blatant corruption and that the criminal case is still under investigation.

Today, the IBU’s Independent Investigation Committee (ERC) presented its report in which they outline a long list of criticisms, evidence and accusations for which Besseberg must answer.

Prostitutes and luxury watches

The investigative report only examined whether Besseberg broke the IBU’s own or the sport’s own rules, and not whether he is guilty of corruption or doping fraud.

They also did not find concrete evidence that Besseberg was corrupted, but:

According to the commission, Besseberg, who was president from 1993 to 2018, had no real interest in protecting the sport from cheating. The Norwegian is also said to have violated several internal rules and ethical guidelines. The report of over 200 pages describes a large number of events.

– We have tried to keep as much evidence in the public version as possible. This gives you the opportunity to draw your own conclusions as to whether our opinion is fair and correct, Taylor tells NRK.

The commission behind the report believes there are ample indications that he was “bought” by Russian leaders with free prostitutes, luxury watches, vacations and hunting trips to Russia. They have not found concrete evidence that such corruption has taken place, but want the IBU to open a case so that Besseberg will respond to the charges.

NRK was in contact with Besseberg on Wednesday evening. He declined to comment on the case, but referred to his lawyer, Norbert Wess. The lawyer says they have not read the report and are not aware of its contents.

– I want to stress that the police investigation is still ongoing, that no charges have been laid and that Besseberg denies all accusations by the authorities and the IBU commission, Wess said.

Says Besseberg has always favored Russia

The report paints a picture of a Norwegian leader who failed to protect pure practitioners and instead made sure that Russia always got what it wanted.

– We also believe that where Besseberg broke the rules, it was in almost all cases to protect and promote Russian interests. There is a very clear pattern there, the man behind the report, Jonathan Taylor, tells NRK.

Besseberg’s lawyer denies these allegations.

– It is not true that Besseberg “always sided with the Russians”. There is no evidence for this. Besseberg was also known as a hard-line doping opponent who always went out of his way to prosecute doping suspects, regardless of their nationality, including Russians, attorney Wess wrote in an email to NRK.

Biathlon Association: – We are shaken

The Norwegian Biathlon Federation has considered parts of the report. They point out that the report clarifies a global culture within the IBU leadership. They also believe that not enough has been done to prevent systematic doping.

– We are above all shaken by the content that appears in the report. These include coverage of systematic Russian doping and widespread unethical behavior by the IBU leadership. We naturally disassociate ourselves strongly from that, says Arne Horten, president of the Norwegian Biathlon Association.

Now they want the IBU to deal with the past and become more open and all nations to be involved in the processes.

– Their conclusion should not be misunderstood. We are impressed with the considerable work that has been done in this case, and hope that this will contribute to more transparency and an even stricter regime in anti-doping work in sport, said Horten.

Outgoing IBU President Olle Dahlin said he was shocked by the report. At the same time, he wants to look to the future.

– Thanks to this report, we now have a tool that can help us ensure that such things do not happen again. We are grateful that the commission produces this evidence that sheds light on the flaws in our sport, Dahlin said.

I will not make any comments to the Commission

Besseberg spoke to police, but was not questioned by the IBU’s independent commission of inquiry or commented on the strong accusations contained in the report. Since the commission cooperated with the Austrian police, it has had access to talks with the suspects.

The report states that Besseberg allegedly admitted to police that he received services from prostitutes in Russia without paying for them himself. It refers to an episode in Moscow between 2010 and 2014, where Besseberg did not know who paid, only that “she was sent by someone, probably from the organizing committee”. The report further states that there are clear indications that the Russian leadership was involved in this affair.

The lawyer also denies this.

– Besseberg never asked for or accepted any money, gifts, or received other benefits, either from Russian officials or anyone else, Wess writes.

The report also explains that Besseberg was unable to present evidence that he paid for his own hunting trips. An episode from Vancouver in 2010 is brought to light, where Jim Carrabre, IBU board member and member of the Canadian Biathlon Federation, allegedly offered to organize a hunting trip for the hunting-loving Norwegian. Besseberg must have been very interested and asked if they had paid for the trip. “We said no, we (the Canadian Biathlon Association) just wanted to organize the hunt. He had to pay for it. Besseberg then lost interest in hunting, “Carrabre reportedly explained to the police.

The commission cites several examples where it believes Besseberg favored the Russians rather than protecting clean and fair sport. For example, when the Russian IBU Vice President Alexander Tikhonov was indicted in a criminal case in Russia. This had no effect on the position of Tikhonov’s board of directors. Even when the same Russians allegedly tried to bribe IBU general secretary Nicole Resch, Besseberg would have done nothing, the report said.

The report forms the basis for the IBU now to open a case and possibly have Besseberg banned from the sport. At the same time, the investigation into the criminal case against the Norwegian continues.