The former head of the International Union of Biathletes was convicted of corruption
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The former head of the International Union of Biathletes, Anders Besseberg, was sentenced by a court in Norway to three years and one month in prison for “gross corruption”. The verdict was announced on April 12, the Norwegian State Broadcasting Company reports.
According to the court’s decision, the Norwegian received several expensive watches as a gift, including from Russian officials and sports officials, used the services of sex workers at someone else’s expense, went on expensive hunting trips to Russia, the Czech Republic, and Germany, and used a leased BMW car for free at the expense of the Swiss company that owned the rights to biathlon broadcasts.
Besseberg did not warn the federation headed by him about the gifts, and the court believes that they could affect his work. The article on which the 78-year-old sports official was tried does not require proof of concrete actions in exchange for bribes. It was enough for the court to prove that the benefits received by the accused were related to his position, and he was aware of it.
Besseberg’s trial began on January 10. The investigation was conducted by law enforcement agencies of Norway, Austria, Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic. The Norwegian denies the charges. About some of the bribes he received, he said that he perceived them as personal gifts. Part of it was called establishing business contacts. He will appeal the sentence.
Besseberg led the International Union of Biathletes for 25 years, since its creation in 1993. During this time, biathlon became one of the most popular winter sports. A number of sports officials spoke out in support of the accused.
The former head of the Union of Biathletes of Russia, Viktor Maguirov, told the Norwegian mass media that the official did not show any special affection towards the Russian Federation or the athletes. Before announcing the sentence, the judge said that he believed that Besseberg acted in the interests of Russia.
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