Biathlon Expose: Bribes, Prostitutes for Olympic Medals

(ATR) Criminal prosecution could be the next round of trouble for two former leaders of the International Biathlon Union who schemed to keep secret positive drug tests for Russian athletes.

A 200+ page expose released Jan. 28 presents a lurid picture of bribes funneled to then IBU President Anders Besseberg and secretary general Nicole Resch.

The report was commissioned by the IBU in the aftermath of an April 2018 police raid at the headquarters of the federation in Salzburg, Austria. At that time Russia was already under sanctions for the deception carried out at the Moscow anti-doping laboratory and the lab opened in Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russian biathletes had already been stripped of medals from those Games.

The raid of the office as well as the home of Besseberg in Norway uncovered plenty of physical evidence such as cash and a trove of luxury watches. The IBU investigators interviewed a cast of characters including Grigor Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow lab and the whistleblower for the Russian scandal.

In addition to cash payments that might total $300,000 Besseberg is alleged to have taken hunting and fishing trips arranged by the Russians. Also arranged by the Russians for Besseberg’s visits were prostitutes, according to the report.

The report says a Russian official boasted that he had Besseberg under his control.

Former IBU secretary generalResch allegedly received expensive jewelry and a first-class trip to New York City, among other "blandishments" as the report describes the corrupt payments from Russian Biathlon Union officials.

The report recounts a wallet presented to an IBU official as a gift from Russian hosts. Instead of a token good luck gesture of a small coin or bill, the wallet carried a 500 euro note.

Olle Dahlin, who took over as IBU President in 2018, expressed his dismay at the findings of the report he and the IBU board commissioned more than two years ago in the wake of the headquarters raid.

"We are shocked by the wrongdoing that has been described in the External Review Commission’s report. But, we are grateful to the Commission for bringing this evidence to light and ensuring that misconduct within our sport is accounted for," he says in a statement.

British attorney Jonathan Taylor, already familiar with the Russian doping scandal in Sochi through his role in those investigations, was the leader for the biathlon inquiry.

"This final report stands as a case study for the importance of good governance in sport," says Taylor.

"The complete lack of basic governance safeguards previously in place at the IBU meant the former IBU leadership was able to operate without checks and balances, without transparency, and without accountability. The report shows why all integrity decisions should be made by an independent body that is dedicated solely to protecting the ethical values of the sport, not by an executive board that has to deal with a number of conflicting interests," he says.

Any decisions about the next steps IBU might take are up to the Biathlon Integrity Unit, its members independent of the federation. BIU Chair Louise Reilly calls the report "deeply troubling".

"It is precisely to detect and prevent instances such as these occurring that the Unit was created, to ensure all of biathlon’s stakeholders can have confidence that ethical issues in the sport will be addressed independently and expertly," says Reilly.

"The Integrity Unit will also analyze the extensive evidence collected by the ERC and determine whether to bring proceedings for apparent violations of the IBU rules independently, impartially, and without fear or favor, thereby upholding our responsibility to protect the integrity of the sport," she says in a statement.

Taylor’s report says it seems clear there should be consequences for Besseberg.

"To the Commission, the evidence appears strong that the IBU under Mr. Besseberg betrayed clean biathletes, marginalizing them and failing to protect their right to clean sport. When some of them tried to speak out, he tried to ignore them, he belittled them, and he rejected their efforts to introduce transparency and accountability to the sport. It is therefore every important that those biathletes see that he has been called to account for his actions," says the report.

Prosecutors are still investigating the evidence and have yet to charge Besseberg or Resch. In addition to charges in Austria, Besseberg could face trouble in his native Norway for financial and tax related crimes. German authorities are said to be building a case against Resch.

Besseberg was careful in his comments about doping and Russia in February 2018 during an ATRadio podcast recorded at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

He maintained that keeping Russia out of the 2018 Olympics was without sufficient evidence of wrongdoing.

"It’s difficult to give a clear answer today, many of those things are going on and in front of court and so on," Besseberg told Around the Rings.

"One thing sports, WADA, all federations and the IOC are having in common is we want to fight for the clean athletes but at the same time we must also be very careful we are not sanctioning clean athletes, that is what is problematic in this case," Besseberg said.

Two months later Besseberg’s 25 year career at the IBU came to a crashing end.

Reported by Ed Hula.