Judge Vidar Toftøye-Lohne from Buskerud District Court in Hokksund near Oslo today handed down the judgement in the criminal case against Anders Besseberg, former president of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). After a nearly four-hour long reading of the legal premises of the case, the judge concluded that Besseberg should be sentenced to three years and one month in prison.
The court found Besseberg is guilty of a persistent conflation of private interests and his role as president of the IBU. He was found guilty on 9 out of 11 counts of accepting illegal gifts and services in the form of sex with Russian prostitutes, exclusive hunting trips, expensive wristwatches, and a luxury car – all paid by Russian sports leaders and the global marketing company Infront.
So corrupt as well as one sick puppy https://t.co/YfHnSVAHdr
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) April 13, 2024
"By accepting the gifts and benefits in question, he has almost been in a constant state of incapacity," said judge Vidar Toftøye-Lohne. The judge noted that Besseberg broke the trust that followed his position as IBU president by accepting the gifts. "He was given a private car which no one knew of, and he didn’t pay for. It was a deal that Infront wanted with the IBU president outside a normal carpool agreement."
The prison sentence marked a preliminary legal end to the more than six-year-long corruption case, which is labelled one of the biggest sports scandals to date in the five Nordic democracies, all of which have a long tradition of making a virtue of fighting corruption.
But after the judge read out the guilty verdict and sentencing, Besseberg had the last word in the case:
"I am surprised by the court's reasoning and appeal the judgement," he said, setting the stage for another lengthy legal battle with the Norwegian prosecution in a potential new court case.
Lars Jørgensen
Lars Jørgensen
The investigation became public knowledge in 2018 when the French newspaper Le Monde cited a confidential WADA report from 2017. The report revealed that Besseberg and Nicole Resch, the then IBU secretary general, were investigated for accepting bribes to conceal positive doping samples from Russian athletes as an offshoot of the Russian state doping case.
WADA today reminded the public of the start of the investigation:
WADA initiated an investigation into this matter in November 2016 through its independent Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) Department. Information collected at that stage gave the criminal investigation its initial impetus and WADA investigators were in close communication with law enforcement authorities in Austria and Norway, as well as INTERPOL. … As with many WADA I&I investigations, this case was originally triggered by intelligence provided by a confidential source. WADA encourages anyone with information who wishes to help maintain the integrity of sport, to come forward in complete confidence via WADA’s whistleblower platform ‘Speak Up!’
Full WADA statement
WADA welcomes guilty verdict in Besseberg case
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) welcomes the guilty verdict by a court in Norway in relation to the former President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), Anders Besseberg, who was on trial in connection to criminal corruption charges related to accepting bribes and other inducements, and favoring Russia while he was head of the IBU. The court sentenced Mr. Besseberg to three years and one month in prison.
WADA initiated an investigation into this matter in November 2016 through its independent Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) Department. Information collected at that stage gave the criminal investigation its initial impetus and WADA investigators were in close communication with law enforcement authorities in Austria and Norway, as well as INTERPOL.
This is another success for WADA I&I and its policy of collaboration with law enforcement and other stakeholders that are committed to doping-free sport. It shows once again that WADA will always act to do what is right for clean sport. Today’s verdict should be seen as a warning to other administrators who threaten the integrity of sport. WADA commends the diligence of the Austrian and Norwegian law enforcement, as well as the prosecutors who brought the case to court, in using WADA’s information and taking it further for the protection of clean sport.
As with many WADA I&I investigations, this case was originally triggered by intelligence provided by a confidential source. WADA encourages anyone with information who wishes to help maintain the integrity of sport, to come forward in complete confidence via WADA’s whistleblower platform ‘Speak Up!’
On 10 April 2018, the Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office, in cooperation with Interpol and Økokrim, the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, raided the IBU's office in Anif near Salzburg. Two days later, Besseberg resigned as IBU President, a position he had held since 1993.
The Central Public Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Economic Crime and Corruption in Austria closed the investigation against Nicole Resch in 2022 – but the Norwegian police continued their investigation into Besseberg and named the investigation Janus after the name of a Roman god with two heads.
In 2021, a 220-page report from the IBU's External Review Commission found Besseberg guilty of improper favouritism towards Russian interests.
However, it wasn't until 2023 that the trial against Besseberg was officially announced and he was charged with aggravated corruption, which under Norwegian law can carry up to ten years in prison.
The trial began on 9 January 2024, when prosecutor Marianne Djupesland announced ten charges against Besseberg. During the following six weeks, the court heard 22 witnesses.
Besseberg was accused of demanding, accepting or receiving Russian prostitutes, exclusive hunting trips, and expensive wristwatches paid by persons of authority in Russian biathlon, and a leased BMW X5 car, for which the IBU marketing company Infront Austria GmbH, a subsidiary of the notorious Infront Sports & Media AG, covered the costs between 2009 and 2018.
Infront's top executive is former FIFA president Sepp Blatter's nephew Philippe Blatter. The company is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, and is now owned by the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda. The roots of Infront go back to the widely ramified corruption empire of the ISL Group and the sports rights dealer and TV entrepreneur Leo Kirch. It has been proven in court that ISL bribed leading sports officials from FIFA, IOC, IAAF and other organisations and federations with at least 142 million CHF over decades. Infront was created after the collapse of ISL and Kirch empires in 2001 and 2002 on the remnants of the giants. Infront even took over the former headquarters of the ISL Group in Grafenauweg in Zug.
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