NSM director Sofie Nystrøm had to resign after an unconstitutional loan of 200 million as part of a lease agreement. No one can take out loans on behalf of the government. It is in the constitution. Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said at the press conference on Friday 8 December that she did not know about the loan agreement and that she supported Nystrøm’s departure. – The loan agreements are illegal and serious mistakes have been made, Mehl said at the press conference. Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl and NSM director Sofie Nystrøm. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB Nystrøm herself was clear early on that the Ministry of Justice and the Minister of Justice were informed about the agreement, but that she herself took responsibility in the matter. On Tuesday evening came the timeline of NSM’s illegal lease agreement. There, Mehl and the ministry also receive harsh criticism from the Ministry of Finance: They could have prevented the incident if they had followed NSM more closely. Strong criticism from the Ministry of Finance On 1 June 2022, the lease agreement between NSM is signed. On 15 November this year, the Ministry of Justice asks the Ministry of Finance for an assessment of the agreement. On 29 November, the Ministry of Finance responds as follows: “Based on the documentation that has been submitted, the Ministry of Finance’s assessment is that the Ministry of Justice has a responsibility in the case and closer follow-up by agency boards at an earlier time could contribute to uncovering and possibly preventing violations of the rules in the case,” it says in the document. – The Ministry of Finance is clear here. This is rubbish, says Sveinung Stensland in Høgre, who sits on the justice committee. Sveinung Stensland in Høgre says the ministry is playing a game of lies about responsibility in the case. Photo: Jonas Kroken Sævereide / news – The Ministry of Finance knows what they are talking about. The matter is serious, he adds. The day before the NSM director resigns, the Ministry of Justice responds to the assessment and writes: “Based on preliminary information, the Ministry of Finance has assessed that better routines in the ministry could contribute to uncovering breaches of the rules earlier. There would always be a balance between trust and detailed management. Entering into legal contracts is the agency’s own responsibility,” says the response from the Ministry of Justice. Stensland thinks the situation is special and serious: – The Ministry of Finance believes that the Ministry of Justice must take more responsibility. The Ministry of Justice disagrees with that: – It’s a trick, and it’s the opposite of taking responsibility, says Stensland. news has been in contact with the Ministry of Justice, which will comment on the case. – Someone is a little afraid of having made a mistake here, Stensland says Mehl’s handling has gone quickly. – Everything happened at once last Friday. It is clear that the Ministry of Justice was in a great hurry to deal with the case. Then the Ministry of Justice knew that the Ministry of Finance had assessed the case so that the Ministry of Justice, led by Mehl, could prevent the agreement with “better agency management”. – It has not been communicated until now. We have not been told this, says Stensland. Høgre had asked questions about overspending in the justice sector and whether they had control over their agencies. By the time they got an answer to this, Nystrøm had already left. – Pace and dynamism have not characterized this ministry in the past year, so to speak. Things have gone fast here. He believes the letter from the Ministry of Finance is one of the explanations. – They want the case out of the way as quickly as possible, but I don’t think it’s that simple: – It’s clear that someone is a little afraid of having made a mistake here.
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Gets reprimanded for the NSM scandal: – The opposite of taking responsibility, Høgre believes
