KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: Another strand has been added to the Russian doping scandal after an inquiry by an independent commission into a corruption scandal within the International Biathlon Federation.

The IBU’s Norwegian former president, Anders Besseberg, was forced to resign in 2018 after a 26-year reign.

Investigators, after trawling through more than 70,000 documents, have discovered that Besseberg had accepted at least $200,000 to cover up doping cases in Russian biathlon.

He had also been invited to join hunting parties in Russia and been provided regularly with prostitutes. 

The 200-page report, commissioned by Bessberg’s IBU presidential successor Olle Dahlin from Sweden, relies on statements from whistleblowers and inquiries undertaken by Austrian and Norwegian police. It also builds on a report prepared earlier by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Besseberg is accused of having used his influence to ensure the participation of the Russians in the Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018 but also to guarantee to Russia the organization of the World Biathlon 2021 in Tyumen, in Siberia.

The report also points up a contributory role played by the former IBU secretary general, Germany’s Nicole Resch, who was also forced to resign.

The IBU scandal mirrors similar events within the International Weightlifting Federation during its leadership by Hungarian Tamas Ajan.

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