IBU and BIU take note of the Økokrim announcement on Besseberg case.
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the independent Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) take note of the announcement by (Økokrim), the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, that Anders Besseberg, former IBU President, has been indicted on charges of aggravated corruption.
The IBU and the BIU have worked closely with the Økokrim on this complex and long running case and will continue to offer their full and unconditional support in reaching a resolution.
The IBU Executive Board appointed an independent External Review Commission (ERC), chaired by Jonathan Taylor QC, in November 2018 to conduct a full investigation into allegations made against Mr Besseberg. The ERC was independent from the police investigations.
Following an exhaustive investigation, the ERC concluded that Mr Besseberg had a case to answer for breach of the IBU’s rules, based on their apparent protection of Russian interests, particularly in the anti-doping context, without good justification.
The BIU now continues the work started by the ERC.
The Økokrim media release can be found here:
The Biathlon Integrity Unit is an operationally independent and specialised unit of the International Biathlon Union. It was established in order to ensure all of Biathlon’s stakeholders can have confidence that ethical issues in the sport will be addressed independently and expertly.
