Enlarge image
Ex-biathlon world association head Anders Besseberg: Did the Norwegian allow himself to be invited to expensive hunting trips?
Photo: Sergei Bobylev / ITAR-TASS / IMAGO
The pressure on one of the world's largest sports marketers is growing: On Monday, the Vienna Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office had the headquarters of Infront Sports & Media in Zug, Switzerland, searched. It was the second raid on the company after the investigators paid a surprise visit to the Austrian subsidiary Infront Austria in Salzburg last April.
The marketing giant, which also brings in advertising partners for German sports, including Werder Bremen, 1. FC Cologne, the German Ice Hockey Association and the Berlin Marathon, is suspected of having bribed the former head of the World Biathlon Association IBU. The Norwegian Anders Besseberg, world president until 2018, is currently on trial in Buskerud, Norway, because, among other things, he was allegedly invited on expensive hunting trips by a former Infront manager. At the same time, Infront has been allowed to market the world association exclusively for decades.
Like Infront, Besseberg denies a conflict of interest and asserts that he has stayed out of specific negotiations since 2005 at the latest and has not granted Infront any advantages. Infront confirms the search, but when asked, says that it only ever received market conditions and that it did not exert any unlawful influence. The allegations are taken very seriously and are also being investigated internally. Because it is an ongoing process, no further comment will be made.
The Viennese investigators also kept a low profile at the request of SPIEGEL, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Augsburger Allgemeine, the Austrian newspaper Der Standard and the Norwegian TV station NRK. They only confirmed several searches abroad, without specifying who was being investigated.
Trips to the hunting lodge
It was known that proceedings against four accused had been ongoing since April. As is now clear, these are Besseberg and his former deputy Klaus Leistner, who also rejects all allegations, as well as the current Infront Austria boss Stefan Krauß, a former German ski racer, who did not comment when asked.
The focus is on the now retired ex-Infront manager Volker S., who landed the biathlon business with the IBU in the 1990s. When he sold his company to Infront, he joined the company as a manager and continued to look after Besseberg. He was also the one who went hunting with Besseberg, including in the border area of Liechtenstein and Austria as well as in an area in the Czech Republic with a luxurious hunting lodge. Infront Austria apparently covered the costs. Volker S. has so far left inquiries unanswered.
The Viennese investigators allege infidelity, accepting gifts and the resulting bribery. It's about bribes and monetary advantages that were offered and also accepted. Doubts about the cleanliness of Infront arise, among other things, from emails that emerged during the raid in Salzburg in April. This gives the impression that private and business matters were repeatedly mixed up on hunting trips with Besseberg and that Besseberg certainly played a role in contract extensions with Infront.