OSLO, Norway (AP) — The longtime former biathlon standout accused of shielding Russia from doping cases was found guilty of corruption charges Friday in his home country of Norway and sentenced to more than three years in prison.
Anders Besseberg was convicted of accepting bribes in the form of expensive watches, hunting trips and a liaison with a prostitute in Moscow, allegedly linked to his more than 20 years of advocating for Russia as president of the International Biathlon Union.
Besseberg had hunting trophies, two expensive wristwatches and 1.4 million crowns ($129,235) confiscated by the Hokksund District Court in his native Norway.
The ruling said: “The court has no doubt that he acted in favor of Russia, both in words and in deeds.”
The 78-year-old Norwegian, who listened quietly to the verdict being read, said he was “disappointed and surprised” by the verdict and planned to appeal.
Besseberg was charged by Norwegian prosecutors last April with serious corruption in connection with alleged bribery in 2009.
The total prison sentence was three years and one month – six months less than the prosecution requested.
“In the court’s opinion, the defendant clearly lacks understanding of his position and self-confidence,” said Judge Vidar Toftøy-Lohne when reading out the 67-page judgment.
Toftøy-Lohne said the court did not take Besseberg’s age into account when handing down the sentence.
“We completely disagree with the result and the reasoning,” Besseberg’s lawyer Mikkel Toft Gimset told reporters. “The way the court describes it, it appears that Anders Besseberg was alone in making these decisions.”
Besseberg resigned in 2018 following a police raid on IBU offices in Austria as part of a multinational investigation. The scandal arose during years of investigations into state-sponsored doping programs and cover-ups by Russia.
A report commissioned by the IBU concluded in 2021 that there had been “systematic corrupt and unethical behavior at the top” of the governing body.
___
Winter Olympics news: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports