– For me it was terrible. I was good friends with Anders, a really good friend, says Janez Vodicar to news about what it was like to be interviewed by the police about Anders Besseberg. The Slovenian was formerly vice-president under the corruption-accused biathlete president Anders Besseberg until 2006. When the investigation into Besseberg started, the police contacted him. – I told everything I knew, says Vodicar. The trial against Anders Besseberg starts on Tuesday. He is accused of gross corruption, but does not admit criminal guilt after the indictment. The prosecution accuses Besseberg of accepting bribes in the form of prostitutes offered by Russians, exclusive watches, paid hunting trips and leasing cars paid by a company that procures marketing agreements. Bear hunting In front of news, Janez Vodicar claims that in the 2000s he warned Besseberg against accepting gifts and promised hunting trips. He thought it could punish the biathlon president. He did not like what he observed. – I warned him. Several times when we talked together we said that this is too much, says Vodicar. Janez Vodicar, is a professor at the University of Ljubljana. There he has tested a number of the well-known athletes in the country. In the International Biathlon Union, he was responsible for sports. Photo: Jørgen Terland Gundersen/news His opinion was that Besseberg did not react to the warnings. – He didn’t say; “No dude, I’m not going to do this”. He didn’t say he didn’t need to shoot the deer or didn’t need the expensive watch, says Vodicar. Vodicar highlights episodes from the years before the time period that is part of the indictment against Besseberg. Vodicar particularly remembers one of the hunting trips to Besseberg. – I remember he came back from hunting in Slovakia. Everyone was satisfied and happy. Local hunters had joined. Then he said “I shot a bear”. Then a picture of this was published somewhere, Vodicar says. He has questioned who paid, but realized it was organized by the World Cup organizer in Slovakia. Vodicar saw the same in other countries. This did not apply only in Russia. Received an offer He himself says that he was also offered both cash checks and holiday stays when he was a top biathlete. – But I never accepted. I said no. It wasn’t the right thing to do and it wasn’t the way I could work, says Vodicar. Vodicar does not know what happened after 2006. Then he lost the presidential election in the IBU against Besseberg. He then disappeared from the leadership of the IBU. When the police investigation into Besseberg became known, he considered calling Besseberg. He let it be. Anders Besseberg with a gift box in his hand during the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk in 2011. Behind him is former director of the Russian Biathlon Union Sergej Kushchenko. According to the indictment, he received a watch to the value of NOK 195,000 from a person in power within Russian biathlon this year, probably during this championship. news has asked what is in the box in the photo, but Besseberg and his lawyers will not answer specific debts against him before the trial and refer to what Besseberg will explain there. Photo: NordicFocus – From the start I really liked Anders, because he was an expert. He was a biathlete, says Vodicar, who was responsible for the sports doctor in the International Biathlon Federation. Besseberg has not given his version of this specific case. But Besseberg, through his lawyers, has been presented with the content of this and several other cases. He has asked them to answer news. – Besseberg does not recognize himself in the description and rejects the allegations that are made against him. He does not wish to comment further on the allegations before the trial, says co-defendant Mikkel Toft Gimse to news. – The party committee Russian Aleksander Tikhonov, who was vice-president of the IBU in the 2000s, claims he himself disagreed with Besseberg about the waiting of biathlon summits outside Europe. – When new vice-presidents came in, we on the board were called the executive party committee, says Tikhonov, referring, among other things, to dinners, wines and parties. Tikhonov is clear to news that gifts of watches are not dangerous and that Russia is a hospitable nation. He saw hunting trips as a friendly invitation. He says that he himself once went hunting with Besseberg. The independent commission that investigated the Besseberg case on behalf of the IBU questioned the trustworthiness of the Russian. “In general, the commission does not consider that Mr. Tikhonov is a reliable witness,” the report states. At the same time, it was pointed out that some of what he said corresponded with what other people reported. Besseberg is known for his passion for hunting. Here with a mouflon, which is found in central parts of Europe. – Behaved politely Former sponsor manager Jacob Lund was close to biathlon throughout the 90s and 2000s. He believes that accepting the offer was also a matter of politeness. – It was big in Eastern Europe when the president of a sports association came to visit. Then you were waited on. Then there was champagne, good food and probably ladies too, says Lund. He points out that one can ask oneself whether it is necessary. Jacob Lund, former sponsorship manager at Vital and DNB. He was close as head of sponsorship agreements with both international biathlon and the Norwegian Biathlon Union. Photo: NTB – The point is that you have to know where the boundaries of politeness go in a way. It is clear that if you come as a leader from the IBU to Bulgaria and they value you greatly, then you must behave like a leader in the IBU. You can’t just say no to vodka, no to some food or no to a hunting trip, says Lund. He himself was once on a hunting trip with Besseberg in Siberia. – He behaved politely and agreed to what he was invited to, says Lund. System for gifts Greg McKenna heads the Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU), an independent unit set up to, among other things, investigate breaches of ethical regulations in the IBU. Greg McKenna head of the Biathlon Integrity Unit. Photo: Jørgen Terland Gundersen/news McKenna points out that reporting gifts is a requirement for the top biathletes in IBU no. – Now we have a system if an official is approached or given a gift, they send an e-mail to me as head of BIU and say “I have received this pen”. Often it is small things, but it is reported, says McKenna.
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