The International Biathlon Union said Wednesday its headquarters have been raided by Austrian police investigating the body’s president and secretary general.
The wife of Anders Besseberg, who has been the IBU’s president since it was founded in 1993, told The Associated Press the police investigation was related to doping allegations.
The IBU said secretary general Nicole Resch “has requested a leave of absence” because of the investigation, but didn’t comment on Besseberg’s future. The IBU didn’t say what the Austrian Federal Criminal Police was looking for during Tuesday’s raid, only that the investigation was “focusing on” Resch and Besseberg.
Austrian police said the federal prosecutor’s office for financial crimes and corruption was “responsible” for the case. The prosecutor did not immediately comment on the investigation.
Wenche Besseberg said the investigation was related to testimony given by Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov. Anders Besseberg was not immediately available for comment.
Norwegian broadcaster NRK published an interview with Rodchenkov on Wednesday in which he said the IBU had colluded with Russian anti-doping authorities to cover up suspicious blood tests by the country’s athletes in previous years.
Several Russian athletes have been sanctioned for doping in recent years, including Olympic medalists from the 2014 Sochi Games, where Russia has been accused of operating a doping scheme and cover-up.
The IBU and Resch did not respond to questions Wednesday about Rodchenkov’s allegations.
The IBU said its executive board “is taking the matter (of the raid) extremely seriously and continues to be committed to operating under the highest standards of good governance and transparency.”
Austrian authorities have tried to tackle doping in biathlon before.
Police raided the lodgings of the Kazakhstan team ahead of last year’s world championships after a box containing medical equipment and team documents was left by the roadside. The raid didn’t result in any criminal charges and the team passed drug tests, though a team doctor was provisionally suspended by the IBU.
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Associated Press writer Jan Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
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