HOKKSUND (Dagbladet): The corruption case against Anders Besseberg is on the run in the district court. Only after Easter will the verdict be handed down – more precisely on Friday 12 April.
Besseberg’s lawyer Christian B. Hjort tells Dagbladet that the previous six weeks in the courtroom in Hokksund have been difficult for the client.
– I think he thinks it has been a stressful period. But at the same time, it has been good to implement now, rather than having it in front of you all the time, says Hjort to Dagbladet.
Relentless message
On Thursday morning, the prosecution first asked for “something over” four years of unconditional imprisonment for Besseberg.
Exactly: Three years and seven months.
– We think he must be punished severely. This case complex is unique in Norwegian legal history, said prosecutor Marthe Stømner Smestad in Økokrim in Buskerud District Court – where Dagbladet was present.
IN THE COURT: Prosecutor Marianne Djupesland (fh), and Marthe Stømner Smestad during the trial against Anders Besseberg. Anders Besseberg, who is the former president of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), is charged with gross corruption. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB Show more
The defense collapsed
Eventually, Besseberg’s defenders Hjort and Mikkel Toft Gimse started their procedure – where the duo launched a frontal attack against the prosecution.
An almost shaken Hjort made it clear that there is no evidence that Besseberg has not worked actively against doping.
He said that the IBU, under Besseberg’s leadership, was the first organization to ban a doped athlete who had appeared in the Taylor report.
Fact: The Taylor Report
The Taylor report is an investigation report made by the English lawyer Jonathan Taylor, which was commissioned by the International Biathlon Union (IBU). It was published in 2021.
In a case in VG at the beginning of January it emerged that the report was 220 pages long and exists in two different editions: a redacted one which is public, and an internal one which is unredacted.
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– It is almost unimaginable that the prosecution accuses Besseberg of not having worked against doping during his time as IBU president. It is incomprehensible, said Hjort.
Colleague Toft Gimse raged a little later on the court day, when he considered the prosecutor’s claim for three years and seven months in prison, and a one million kroner fine.
– Then you have lost your vision. It does not make sense. They have lost their minds, said a frustrated Toft Gimse.
THUNDER: Anders Besseberg’s lawyers Mikkel Toft Gimse (TV) and Christian B. Hjort. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB Show more
– Tendencies
Hjort reminded the court that the first accusations against Besseberg were that he had accepted large sums of money for the benefit of Russia in his role as president of the International Biathlon Union (IBU).
– For him, this implies an accusation that he has been willing to sell his soul for money. The charge in the indictment, on the other hand, implies that he has not had his compass in order and agreed to too much in the context of representation, said Hjort.
Furthermore, he reacted strongly to the use of witnesses in the case.
– Økokrim’s evidence has been tendentious. We have several times asked them to clarify the purpose of this evidence, but without getting a clear answer, said Hjort.
REACTED: Anders Besseberg’s defender Christian B. Hjort. Photo: Bjørn Langsem / Dagbladet Show more
Aftermath destroyed
At the very end, Besseberg himself took the floor.
– This case has led to bullying and continuous incitement by me for six years. The prosecution’s tunnel vision has surprised me, said Besseberg.
He continued:
– There is a limit to what a person can endure when you can no longer see the light in the five-year-long tunnel I have been in. Although I received expensive gifts and was invited to hunting by many, I must emphasize that I has never allowed me to be corrupted.
CORRUPTION: The prosecution is asking for prison terms and a million fine in the case against former IBU president Anders Besseberg. Video: TV2 Show more
He made it clear that he regrets appearing in the TV 2 documentary “A reported scandal”.
– Unfortunately, I was stupid enough to appear in the documentary. I was promised that it would be balanced, said Besseberg.
Besseberg said he is surprised “by the tunnel vision” he believes the prosecution has shown in the subject matter surrounding Russia and Russians.
TAKE THE WORD: Anders Besseberg spoke out in court. Photo: © Bildbyrån Show more
He then went to great lengths to signal that the legacy has been destroyed for all time anyway.
– What good does it do me, when my political opponents have succeeded in their efforts to trample me deep into the mud. I will always in the time I have again be seen as the scandal president, said Besseberg, before he added in conclusion:
– After devoting my whole life to this sport, and doing what I thought was right, it is bitter to feel like the wild boar in Norway. An unwanted species in our fauna, and can be freely shot all year round.
Facts: The indictment against Anders Besseberg
These are the most important points in Økokrim’s indictment decision against former biathlon champion Anders Besseberg:
* Økokrim believes that in 2011, 2013 and 2014 he received three watches with a total value of NOK 343,000. Økokrim believes the watches were given by an “authority in Russian biathlon”.
* He is said to have received one of the watches during the World Cup final in Holmenkollen in 2014.
* Økokrim believes that on several occasions Besseberg has received gifts in the form of hunting and fishing trips, organized by “Russian government officials” as well as the companies APF and Infront. He is said to have also received hunting trophies and been transported to one of the trips by helicopter.
* According to Økokrim, in 2013 and the period 2015 to 2018, Besseberg must have accepted offers of prostitutes organized by government officials linked to Russian biathlon.
* Økokrim believes that Besseberg in the period 2011-2018 disposed of a BMW X5 for which the rights company Infront covered the costs. The value of this relationship is stated to be NOK 850,000.
* The benefits are considered inappropriate, and the violation is considered gross. In Økokrim’s indictment, it is justified by the following factors: value, lack of transparency about benefits received, breach of trust, actions contrary to IBU’s guidelines, influence on decisions of importance for Russian biathlon.
* The penalty for gross corruption is up to ten years in prison.
* Besseberg denies criminal guilt.
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Amazed
Earlier in the trial, Besseberg explained about a situation in a sauna in Russia where he exchanged an Adidas watch for a Hublot with a Russian official.
Besseberg said he had an Adidas watch with, among other things, a stopwatch function, which the Russian would like to have, NRK reported.
The prosecution believed that the clock change is corruption. The defense understood little of that.
– We do not understand how one can argue for this conclusion. We don’t understand it, said a surprised Hjort in the courtroom on Thursday.
According to the indictment, the Hublot watch has a value of around NOK 70,000.
EXCHANGED: This is the watch Anders Besseberg received in return for the Adidas watch. Photo: Økokrim Show more
Bot: Uncommon
Besseberg can also expect to have to pay for himself – if he is found guilty.
– It has not been usual to give a fine in this type of case, but we believe it is in this one, said co-prosecutor Stømner Smestad.
The sum of the fine will be NOK one million. This will result in a reduction in the prison sentence of six months – from the original sentence of “just over” four years – i.e. three years and seven months.
The prosecution requested that the much-discussed watches be confiscated. The same applied to the hunting trophies – after hunting trips with Volker Schmid. The latter has been associated with several rights companies, such as APF and Infront.
– These are objects related to corruption, claimed Stømner Smestad.
The values, together with the hunting trips, have a total value of NOK 1,450,000.
CORRUPTION: The trial against former IBU president Anders Besseberg continues in Buskerud District Court. view more
Date ready
Besseberg is charged with gross corruption from his time as IBU president. Økokrim’s charges cover the years 2009 to 2018, and they involve bribes in the form of expensive watches, exclusive hunting trips, prostitutes and a leasing car. Much of it is connected to Russia.
The prosecution believes it can prove that Besseberg was pro-Russian during this period.
He himself denies having done anything criminal.
The verdict will be handed down on Friday 12 April.
Facts: Anders Besseberg
This is former IBU president Anders Besseberg:
* Age: 77 years (born 25 February 1946)
* Residence: Vestfossen, Buskerud
* Biathlete in his active sports career (1966-74)
* Norwegian national team coach in biathlon (1976-80)
* President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) from 1993 to 2018. In 1992 took over as president of the Biathlon Union, which was subordinate to the International Pentathlon Federation.
* Said to be the architect behind the hunt start, joint start and mixed relays in biathlon, and he took the sport to new heights during his reign
* In 2014, he was awarded the Norwegian Sports Leader-Veterans Honorary Award
* Honorary member of the Norwegian Sports Confederation since 2015
* Resigned as IBU president in April 2018 following allegations of corruption
* Current: The prosecution asked the district court on Wednesday to sentence Besseberg to three years and seven months in prison for gross corruption.
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