The former World Biathlon Association President Anders Besseberg is being investigated in his native Norway for alleged bribery, cover-up of doping offenses and corruption. His successor Olle Dahlin has now commented on the “Besseberg case”.
IBU President Olle Dahlin was shocked by the crushing charges against Anders Besseberg on TV2: “We strongly condemn what the investigators have revealed. This case has been going on for five years, so it’s good that something is starting now the surface comes.”
The Norwegian authority for the investigation and prosecution of economic and environmental crime, Økokrim, accuses Besseberg of serious corruption offenses in the period from 2009 to 2018. Among other things, it is about watches, hunting trips, trophies, prostitutes and a leased car.
Besseberg had led the World Biathlon Association from 1993, and in 2018 he resigned due to investigations by a commission of inquiry. The 77-year-old is also accused of having covered up the Russian state doping together with the long-standing IBU Secretary General Nicole Resch. However, the criminal proceedings against Resch were recently discontinued.
Biathlon President distances himself from Besseberg
Meanwhile, Dahlin made it clear that he was in no way connected to his predecessor’s misconduct. The fact that Besseberg could be corrupted by the Russians does not mean that everyone in the IBU behaved like this: “Personally, I have not been offered such things. Never. They would have come across the wrong person if they had offered me such a thing . You would have taken a risk.”
The Swede has had no contact with Besseberg for more than five years: “We are two very different people”.
According to “TV2”, the Besseberg case will be heard in a court in Buskerud next October.
