According to Økokrim, Anders Besseberg pleads guilty and is not appealing the part of the case against him that concerns the watch he was given by the Russian Sergej Kushchenko. The defenders will not comment on the information. On Monday, it became known that the corruption case against Besseberg will be reopened in its entirety at the Borgarting Court of Appeal. Besseberg’s lawyers had argued for this, while the prosecution insisted on limited processing of the appeal. In a message to NTB, First State Attorney Marianne Djupesland in Økokrim comments on the latest developments in the case. She was the prosecutor during the district court proceedings. – The main rule in the criminal process is that a convicted person must be given the opportunity to have the issue of guilt tested once more before a higher court. In that sense, the outcome is not surprising, even though the prosecution believed there were grounds for making exceptions in this case, says Djupesland. – Incidentally, it is the case that Besseberg has withdrawn his appeal – and pleaded guilty – as far as the watch he received from Kushchenko is concerned. We note that the consequence of this does not seem to have been addressed by the appeal committee. We are now looking more closely at the significance of this for the further proceedings, she adds. According to Djupesland, the decision to withdraw the appeal relating to the clock gift must have appeared in the defenders’ letter of support for the appeal. The plea of guilty on this point must also have been repeated in a later letter from the defenders. Appeal on the spot NTB has been in contact with Besseberg’s defenders Mikkel Toft Gimse and Christian Hjorth about Økokrim’s information about the withdrawn appeal. – We will return to all such questions during the appeal process, writes Gimse in a short message. Hjorth also refers to the fact that the watch gift from Kushchenko will be a topic during the appeal proceedings in the Court of Appeal. Gimse answers direct questions from NTB that he will neither confirm nor comment on the withdrawn appeal. Besseberg was sentenced in the district court to three years and one month in prison for gross corruption from his time as head of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). Økokrim won on nine out of ten points in the indictment. Besseberg has always denied criminal guilt and appealed the verdict on the spot. Luxury watch The much-discussed watch from Russia’s Kushchenko, which Økokrim has valued at NOK 195,000, was given to the Norwegian in connection with his 65th birthday in 2011. Besseberg explained in the district court that he only realized at a later stage that the gift he received from the IBU’s vice-president was of gold and had a high value. He is said to have subsequently raised this with Kushchenko. – I think it was absolutely crazy if he had given me such an expensive gift. I can’t accept a gift like that, I said, Besseberg said when he explained himself. The 78-year-old added that he was assured it was a personal gift. That’s why he kept the watch. New full round The appeal case in the Borgarting Court of Appeal will not come up until 2025. Then there will be a new full round of evidence. If the prosecution had got what it wanted, there would not have been a new main hearing, on the other hand. The court would then instead assess the sentencing, the application of the law or the proceedings based on what emerged in the district court. In the judgment against Besseberg, it was consistently established that the former sports leader received benefits that were inappropriate (reprehensible) when he was IBU president. The indictment dealt with matters in the years 2009 to 2018.
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Anders Besseberg withdrew his appeal about the gift of a watch – pleads guilty – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
