It has emerged that the son of Iceland’s Attorney General is one of two CEOs at Exista, which was one of the major stakeholders in Kaupthing Bank. And all cases sent from Iceland’s special banking collapse investigation committee for prosecution have to go through the Attorney General.
As a result of this (and other prosecutors’) uncomfortable [...]
It has emerged that the son of Iceland’s Attorney General is one of two CEOs at Exista, which was one of the major stakeholders in Kaupthing Bank. And all cases sent from Iceland’s special banking collapse investigation committee for prosecution have to go through the Attorney General.
As a result of this (and other prosecutors’) uncomfortable family connections, the Minister for Justice is now preparing a change in the law to allow for the creation of a new State Prosecutor to deal solely with financial cases from the banking collapse committee, bypassing the Attorney General altogether.
Meanwhile, Olafur Thor Hauksson, head of Iceland’s Special Investigation into the banking collapse, believes he needs to increase his investigatory staff by at least half, “At the very minimum”, Frettabladid reports. Eva Joly agrees.
In a television interview last night, investigation advisor Eva Joly expressed her own growing displeasure at the progress of the investigations.
According to the world-renowned financial fraud investigator, the head of the investigation should be replaced with three: one for each bank. She also said Iceland needs to employ more foreign experts to help in the investigation.
Eva Joly, who was recently elected a French Member of the European Parliament, would not discount the possibility of quitting her role in Iceland if the government fails to take more notice of her advice in the future.
(Photo of Olafur Th. Hauksson, Head Investigator)