Former president of International Biathlon Union indicted in Norway on bribery accusations

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The former president of the International Biathlon Union has been indicted in his home country of Norway after accusations he took bribes, authorities said Monday.

Anders Besseberg was president of the sport’s governing body for more than 20 years before stepping down in 2018, shortly after Austrian police raided the IBU headquarters. He denies wrongdoing.

Besseberg has been indicted on charges of aggravated corruption relating to alleged acts dating from 2009-18, the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime said in a statement.

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“The charges include accepting bribes in the form of watches, hunting trips and trophies, prostitutes and a leased car which he enjoyed the use of from 2011 to 2018 in Norway,” the statement said.

Anders Besseberg, former president of International Biathlon Union, right, listens to then IBU Secretary General Nicole Resch before a press conference in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Feb. 13, 2009. The former president of the IBU has been indicted in his home country of Norway on bribery accusations. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man, File)

The indictment follows a joint investigation with Austrian authorities and cooperation with authorities in Canada, the Czech Republic and Liechtenstein, the Norwegian agency said.

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“The case has been an enormous burden on Besseberg and his family,” Besseberg’s lawyer, Christian B. Hjort, said in a statement. “He has suffered severe accusations against him for more than five years. He looks forward to presenting his case before the court, and he trusts that the court will see that there are neither any factual basis for the remaining accusations against him.”