Former President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Anders Besseberg was sentenced to three years and one month in prison for certain actions in the interests of Russia.
“I took the watch, but I didn’t take the priestesses of love.” Besseberg does not consider the accessory donated by the Russians a bribe
The court found Besseberg guilty of corruption charges. The prosecution pointed out that he received expensive watches as a gift, used the services of prostitutes, and went on hunting trips to Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic. The court also concluded that Besseberg acted in the interests of Russia. The former sports official was found guilty of nine out of 11 charges, writes Sovetsky Sport.
“In the light of a number of documents, as well as the testimony of witnesses, the court has no doubt that he acted in the interests of Russia, both in word and deed,” said Judge Vidar Toftoy-Lohne.
This high-profile process in biathlon was initiated by the Norwegians back in 2018, when Besseberg left his post. He was accused of lobbying for a bribe so that Tyumen would receive the right to host the Biathlon World Championships. Later, all the others were added to one charge. It was as if they had thrown everything they could at poor Anders.
By the way, it was Besseberg who initiated the creation and first president of the International Biathlon Union. It was he who made biathlon what it is now – one of the most popular winter sports. Biathlon capitalization under Anders has reached incredible heights…
It is worth recalling that the prosecution initially requested for the ex-IBU president a prison sentence of three years and seven months, a fine of 1 million Norwegian kroner (approximately € 88 thousand) and confiscation of property in the amount of 1.45 million Norwegian kroner ( about € 128 thousand).
There was a surprising range of opinions immediately after the verdict was announced. For example, four-time Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov decided to scold the ex-ISU president for his sins, although he had previously expressed the opinion that everything in this investigation was not very clean.
“A long time ago, when I left the post of vice president, I said “goodbye” to everyone and, turning towards Besseberg, said that shame and prison awaited him. I’m never wrong. Prison is never wished on anyone, but with his careless behavior, drunkenness, relationships with prostitutes and everything else, he deserved it,” Tikhonov said.
And two-time Olympic champion in biathlon Dmitry Vasiliev, on the contrary, did not agree with the verdict of the Norwegian court and called this process a reprisal against the undesirable.
“This is reprisal against the unwanted, I can’t call it any other way. Besseberg is the person who will go down in history as the one who made modern biathlon what it is. Under him, our sport acquired similar proportions; it was loved all over the world solely thanks to Besseberg. And he treated all countries equally, including Russia,” Vasiliev said.
The famous Swedish biathlete Sebastian Samuelsson is very happy about everything that is happening.
“As far as I understand, everything was very clear at the trial. Everyone understood that Besseberg cared about the interests of Russia. The punishment imposed was approximately the same as what the prosecutor’s office demanded. It’s nice. The consideration of the case took a long time, but it’s nice to see that he was found guilty,” VG quotes Samuelsson as saying.
Another thing is interesting: if the conditional Besseberg had acted in the interests of Norway, would this case have been considered just as scrupulously, or would everything have been closed quickly so that no one in the future would even be able to undermine? This, of course, is a rhetorical question. But Anders himself never admitted his guilt in what he had done, and he does not consider the watch donated in Russia a bribe.
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2024-04-14 21:28:01