Shortly after the crash in October, news came from Kaupthing that key employees had just been relieved of their liabilities towards loans they’d been granted to buy shares in the bank.
That decision was made by the bank’s management, with the approval of the bank’s head lawyer, Helgi Sigurdsson. Now, DV.is has revealed the amounts behind the remittance.
Amongst the bank’s key staff was Kristjan Arason, head of Retail Banking and husband of Minister of Education Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir from the Independence Party who owed just under 900 million ISK.
Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, CEO was one of the beneficiaries of this action. But most interesting is the fact that Helgi Sigurdsson himself was relieved of 450 million ISK.
Helgi still belongs to Kaupthing’s top management, while Hreidar’s consultancy business helps businesses in trouble renegotiate their loans with the banks, including Kaupthing. Kristjan isn’t more skint than that he was able to buy himself into Capacent Gallup.
Meanwhile, the rest of us continue to smile and pay.
Update 1.7.2009
Helgi Sigurdsson has resigned from Kaupthing saying that he does not want the storm over his loans to disturb the bank. He claims he did not attend the meetings where the loans were remitted and had nothing to do with them. Why he is quitting if nothing was wrong is another question.
Related posts:
- Debt Relief For The Rich
- MP Bank Revives Icelandic Bank Model
- Time: Report Questions Lending of Iceland Bank
- From Wikileaks – Confidential exposure analysis of 205 companies each owing above EUR45M to Icelandic bank Kaupthing, 26 Sep 2008
- Accused Of Stealing 120 Million From Landsbanki, Makes a 148 Million Claim Against The Bank
C.A.K
2 years ago
No, you don’t smile and pay sand you are not being completely honest. The case is this: none of you have the will do anything. You cope with it. This is why you pay.
Bromley86
2 years ago
Madoff has been tried and sentenced in, what? Seven months max.
I know that Iceland is a lot more difficult and involved, but we’re nine months on and I doubt we’re in a position yet where the figurehead of the investigation is even happy with the basic resources allocated.
As she says, it’ll be a hard journey.
And, BTW, can I just say WTF! Back in old money (pre Kreppa exchange rates), those loans to INDIVIDUALS were £5m to £10m! Assuming I accept that it’s legal and normal to see that sort of thing, how can it be legal to write them off?
Bromley86
2 years ago
Some more detail (and a humourous headline) on Icenews:
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/06/30/mass-grave-of-skeletons-spewing-forth-from-kaupthing%e2%80%99s-closet/
Carl Mosconi
2 years ago
Katrin? Isn’t she the b***h that traveled on state money twice to the Beijing Olympics? If she is still in government then shame on the electorate if she is reelected.
Bromley86
2 years ago
Not government, but she’s still in the Althingi and vice-chairman of the IP:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Eorger%C3%B0ur_Katr%C3%ADn_Gunnarsd%C3%B3ttir
Af kúlulánum og annari óreiðu. Láttu rödd þína heyrast. « Bloggsíða Hákonar Jóhannessonar
2 years ago
[...] Segðu nei við siðleysi og yfirgangi [...]
Vilhjalm A.
2 years ago
Another cruel irony is that those who got dividends and loan write-offs for themselves are now in charge of overseeing loan write-offs to other people, the “little people” who work for a living. And they of course get no debt write-offs or write-downs.
“… einn sem fékk mikinn arð og niðurfellingu ábyrgða upp á stórar fúlgur … heitir Friðrik S. Halldórsson og var yfirmaður í eignastýringu KB. (lögfræðingur) Núna er hann yfirmaður “sértækra útlána” hjá Landsbankanum. Aðalvinna hans er að kreista og pína hverja krónu út úr því ólánsfólki sem reisti sér hurðárás um öxl. Þar eru sko engar afskriftir í boði …”