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CRIME

Norway accuses Moscow after another Russian arrested with a drone

A 47-year-old dual-national Russian-British man, reportedly the son of a Putin ally, has been arrested for flying a drone on the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard and other locations, police in Norway have confirmed.

Published: 19 October 2022 13:35 CEST
Pictured: A stock image of a drone.
Police have said that a 47-year-old Russian man has been arrested for using a drone in Norway. Pictured: A stock image of a drone.

Police in Finnmark said Wednesday that a 47-year-old Russian/British citizen was arrested in Hammerfest, northern Norway on October 17th for using a drone in Svalbard and other locations. 

“The police arrested the man on October 17th in Hammerfest and have seized drones and electronic devices that are for technical review. The content from the drones is of great importance to the case,” police said. 

The man is reported to be the son of a close ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, The Barents Observer reports. The latest Russian arrested in Norway was identified as Andrei Yakunin, the son of ex-Russian Railways boss Vladimir Yakunin, who is considered to be close to Putin, news agency AFP reports.

He is charged with breaking sanctions against Russian citizens using drones in Norway that were introduced earlier this year.

Yakunin will be remanded in custody for two weeks, police attorney Anja Mikkelsen Indbjør told public broadcaster NRK. 

Under sanctions introduced earlier this year, Russians are prohibited from operating drones in Norway. Yakunin argued in court that he should be considered a British citizen and that his home address is in Italy, requesting that he should be exempted as the sanctions cover Russian Citizens. 

The latest arrest has been met with strong words from Norway’s PM, Jonas Gahr Støre.

“It is not acceptable for foreign intelligence to fly drones over Norwegian airports and defences. Russians are not allowed to fly drones in Norway,” he told reporters at a trade union event on Wednesday.

“We do not want anyone to fly this type of craft over important installations in Norway. We say no to it, we will pursue it, and we will stop it,” he said.

The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), responsible for intelligence and counterterrorism in Norway, said Wednesday it would be taking over investigations into recent drone sightings and arrests involving Russian citizens.

“In order to ensure a comprehensive investigation of these various incidents, the Attorney General has decided that PST will have centralised investigative responsibility when it comes to illegal drone activity on a national basis,” assistant PST chief Hedvig Moe said at a press conference.

Over the past week, seven Russian citizens have been arrested for either using or possessing a drone or being found with photography equipment in areas where a general photo ban prohibits the public from taking pictures. 

On Monday, Norway’s intelligence service and the country’s Justice Ministry asked the public to remain vigilant. 

Following the Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts in the Baltic Sea in late September, which are widely assumed to be the result of sabotage, Norway has moved to beef up security as it has replaced Russia as western Europe’s leading natural gas supplier. 

In recent weeks, there have been several drone sightings in the vicinity of gas and power plants (such as the Kårstø plant in Tysvær and offshore facilities in the North Sea) and airports (such as the Sola Airport close to Stavanger and Bergen Flesland Airport) in Norway.

READ MORE: Why Norway is asking the public to be vigilant

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CRIME

Norway’s ex-biathlon boss jailed for three years for corruption

A Norwegian court on Friday sentenced a former international biathlon boss to prison for three years and one month for accepting bribes, primarily from Russian officials, including luxury watches, prostitutes and hunting trips.

Published: 12 April 2024 16:53 CEST
Norway's ex-biathlon boss jailed for three years for corruption

Norwegian Anders Besseberg, the 78-year-old head of the International Biathlon Union from 1993 to 2018, was found guilty of nine of 10 counts of aggravated corruption during the period 2009-2018, charges he denied.

“I am of course disappointed and surprised about the verdict and some of the judges’ reasoning. I am appealing on the spot,” Besseberg told the court after the judge read out the 67-page verdict over the course of almost three hours.

“The defendant breached the trust that came with his position at the IBU by accepting the benefits,” judge Vidar Toftoy-Lohne at the Buskerud district court said.

The prosecution hailed the verdict.

“There is a lot of money in circulation in international elite sport. The federations manage substantial financial assets and make decisions that are important for both athletes and the business community,” prosecutor Marianne Djupesland said in a statement.

“We hope this verdict can contribute to raising awareness and that it will have a preventive effect,” she said.

Prosecutors had sought a jail term of three years and seven months and a fine of one million kroner ($95,000).

The court did not hand down a fine, but ordered Besseberg to return gifts amounting to 1.4 million kroner.

Besseberg admitted accepting gifts but dismissed the notion that corruption was involved.

“Even if I received expensive gifts and was invited by many to go hunting, I must stress that I never let myself be corrupted,” he told the court during his trial, media reported.

Russian shadow

As head of the IBU when the Russian doping scandal exploded in the 2010s, Besseberg was accused of initially hiding cases of Russian doping in his sport in exchange for favours.

Prosecutors dropped that line of attack, but in Norway, receiving improper favours, even if no services are provided in exchange, is enough to constitute corruption.

Russia’s shadow nonetheless hung heavily over the case.

According to an inquiry launched by Sweden’s Olle Dahlin, who succeeded Besseberg as head of the IBU, Besseberg pushed to hold the 2021 biathlon world championships in Tyumen, Siberia, despite the Russian doping scandals.

The contest was eventually awarded to Pokljuka in Slovenia.

Prosecutors argued that Besseberg went on fully paid hunting trips in Austria and in the Czech Republic, and for seven years drove a leased BMW X5, all paid for by Infront, a marketing company that held television rights to the sport.

They argued he was given three watches worth a total of more than 30,000 euros ($33,000), invited on trips to hunt deer and wild boar, and offered services from sex workers, all paid for by Russian officials.

Asked about an Omega watch worth more than 17,000 euros he received in 2011 for his 65th birthday, he said: “I did not think it was undeserved.”

The court said two of the three watches he received constituted corruption.

Besseberg also denied any contact with sex workers, acknowledging only what he said was a consensual affair with a 42-year-old Russian.

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