The crimes must have taken place between 2009 and 2018. This is announced by Økokrim, the Norwegian authority for the investigation and prosecution of economic crime
The announcement comes five years after Besseberg stepped down as president of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). A position he had held since 1992.
– Økokrim believes that there is evidence that the defendant received bribes continuously over a ten-year period. The seriousness is underlined by the breach of trust this entails against the background of his mission as chairman of the IBU, says the prosecutor and first public prosecutor Marianne Djupesland in a statement from Økokrim.
Besseberg denies to crime. This is evident from a message that his lawyer Christian B Hjort has sent to NTB.
“Besseberg maintains that he has never accepted bribes or tried to influence the IBU’s anti-doping work in favor of anyone,” the statement reads.
In the fall of 2018, Besseberg resigned from the post after accusations of corruption and violations of doping regulations.
The IBU, which is now led by the Swedish chairman Olle Dahlin, states that it has since cooperated with Økokrim during the investigation against Besseberg.
“The IBU and the BIU (biathlon’s independent integrity unit) have worked closely with Økokrim on this complex and long-standing matter and will continue to offer their full and unconditional support,” the IBU wrote in a statement.
I april 2018 Austrian police raided the IBU office in Salzburg. The suspicions that formed the basis of the raid concerned a payment of the equivalent of SEK 2.5 million, for suspected concealment of positive Russian doping tests, which went to Besseberg and the IBU’s then general secretary Nicole Resch.
Since then, Besseberg has been investigated by both Norwegian and Austrian police for several years. Økokrim is responsible for the part dealing with corruption. The part that deals with the suspicions that the Norwegian was involved in hiding Russian doping is handled by the Austrian police.
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