Research and Higher Education Minister Ola Borten Moe (Sp) admits a breach of the government’s integrity rules, following the purchase of shares in the arms company Kongsberg Gruppen. He says he has also broken the government’s guidelines for share trading, writes E24. Borten Moe says he broke the government’s integrity regulations when he attended a government meeting in January about a billion-dollar contract for the ammunition manufacturer Nammo. The week before, Borten Moe bought shares for over NOK 400,000 in the arms and technology group Kongsberg Gruppen. Kongsberg Gruppen indirectly owns 25 percent of Nammo, through the Finnish arms supplier Patria. Calling it embarrassing – It is a serious matter, it is an embarrassing matter, and it is a matter that will call into question my integrity in particular, and certainly that of the government, says Ola Borten Moe to E24. The government members must show “great care” with shares. They must not own or trade in shares if it could “be suitable” to undermine confidence in the minister, the government or the ministries. He says he wants to continue as a minister, but that this requires that he has confidence. Earlier this week, E24 asked Borten Moe a number of questions about a share purchase he made in Kongsberg Gruppen on 5 January this year. He then bought shares for NOK 415,000 in the arms company, through his wholly owned company Skjefstad Vestre AS. A week later, on 13 January, the government announced that it would enter into a contract for the purchase of ammunition for up to NOK 2.6 billion from Nammo at Raufoss. It was the largest contract in Nammo’s history. Trettebergstuen had to leave. Several members of the government have been in trouble this summer. Education Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) gave a board position to a friend, among other things, and had to answer in the Storting. Culture Minister Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap) appointed and proposed people she is incompetent to deal with, also after a warning from the ministry. She resigned as a minister. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre believes there is a big difference between the two cases. – There are significant differences between Trettebergstuen’s case and Brenna’s case. Brenna’s case is serious, but is of a different nature than what we have seen in Trettebergstuen’s case, said Støre. Listhaug reacts – It is disappointing that Borten Moe as an experienced minister makes this type of mistake. This appears to be yet another serious matter, where ministers do not understand their own role. It should be elementary that you cannot engage in share trading in a company and at the same time take part in dealing with cases about the same company in government, says Frp leader Sylvi Listhaug to news. She believes that another case like this weakens Støre as head of government. – It is embarrassing to see how amateurish the government appears when it comes to very basic rules of the game, whether it is a matter of impartiality or stock trading. This once again puts Jonas Gahr Støre as leader of this government in a strange light, says Listhaug.
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Ola Borten Moe (Sp) admits breach of ethics rules – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
