On Thursday, news could tell that Sindre Finnes has stated that he is politically exposed – but probably not to all the banks he had an account in. Now Rødt believes that the Prime Minister’s office should answer one question: Has anyone from banks or brokerage houses contacted you in connection with former Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s husband, Sindre Finnes, invested money? – This must have been on the Conservative Party’s radar, says parliamentary representative Seher Aydar (R). The committee demands answers. She is in the government’s control body at the Storting, the Control and Constitution Committee. She wants an answer to this question because the financial industry must find out whether the customer is a politically exposed person (PEP). This also applies to close family members of the PEP. If the customer is a PEP, the bank must follow up additionally. This is primarily to detect corruption or money laundering. The rules were tightened in 2018. – When Prime Minister Solberg signed the Money Laundering Act, she knew that her husband owned shares, she continues. Was PEP a topic at SMK? Sindre Finnes has acquired lawyer Thomas Skjelbred at Elden Advokatfirma. Skjelbred has told news that Finnes was a PEP in all the banks he uses, but probably not in the Nordea accounts that were used before 2013. That is before Solberg became prime minister. – If banks or other financial companies approached Solberg or the Prime Minister’s office, it means that Solberg received additional notifications about her husband’s investments than those that have already appeared in the media and those that she received from her own officials, says Aydar. – Finnes’ lawyer says that Finnes is registered as a PEP wherever he has accounts that are in use. Doesn’t that mean Finnes has done what he was supposed to? – The control committee is not concerned with whether Finnes or his banks have followed the PEP rules. The issue is whether Solberg has followed his duties as Prime Minister to know whether she is incompetent, she says, and continues: – Therefore, we want to know whether there has been a discussion about Finnes, shares and PEP in the Prime Minister’s office. Want to get to the bottom of the cases This summer, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap) said that her husband had also traded shares which disqualified her. Ola Borten Moe (SP) also traded shares which disqualified him, and resigned as minister. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education have been asked the same question by the committee. – Rødt sees it as the Storting’s job to get to the bottom of all matters concerning competence and share trading, says the Rødt politician.
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Demands an answer to whether the Prime Minister’s office was notified about Finnes – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
