After four court rounds, it has been decided. Architect Rune Breili and former construction case manager Harald Svendsen have been convicted of gross corruption. The two were sentenced to eight months in prison in the district court, but acquitted in the court of appeal. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court. There, the acquittal was overturned. In December 2022, the case was therefore heard again in the Court of Appeal. Stricter punishment Svendsen has been sentenced to 11 months in prison. In addition, NOK 30,000 is confiscated and he must pay NOK 25,000 in court costs. Breili is sentenced to prison for 9 months and must also pay NOK 25,000 in court costs. The case that started with several cases of illegal construction in the beach zone on Tjøme has thus been finally closed for the corruption accusations. It is happening five and a half years after what became known as the Tjøme case started in the media. – Heavy process Thomas Skjelbred defends Breili in the case. He says that his client takes the sentence very seriously. – This has been an incredibly long and difficult process, he says to news. His client will consider appealing the case. – We must study the judgment and discuss this before we decide on an appeal, he says. He believes the verdict shows that the list for violating Norwegian corruption regulations is very low if it remains. – In my view, ordinary people should seek advice before performing friend services or running for relations that hold public positions. These are friend services between two close relationships. Skjelbred believes that the court sets a very low list. So far, it has not been possible to get a comment from Svendsen’s defender in the case, Knut Henrik Strømme. State Attorney Henrik Horn is satisfied with the outcome. – We note that the Court of Appeal agrees with the prosecution on the question of guilt, and determines a punishment that is somewhat stricter than we proposed. All in all, we are satisfied with this, he says. Horn believes the verdict is important. – The question of the meaning of their friendship has been raised before. It is something that the Court of Appeal does not now attach significant importance to, and something that the prosecution agrees should have no importance in a case like this, he says. Committed cabin owner The case started when news revealed that an employee had been paid to send building applications that he himself processed. The employee was suspended on the day. It was cabin owner Tom Ravndal who got news interested in the topic. He believed there were several cases of illegal construction in the beach zone at Tjøme. – They are often surrounded by ready-made lawns, fences and other obstacles that make it difficult to get through. I began to wonder if this is legal. Ravndal explained this when he contacted news in the spring of 2017. He made use of the Public Information Act and eased his way through several hundred building applications. Ravndal was surprised that the firm of architect Rune Breili almost always got approval from the administration. Breili replied at the time that it was because he adjusted the projects in dialogue with the municipality. In the weeks that followed, news, Tønsbergs Blad and several national media wrote about what became known as the construction scandal at Tjøme. The case created a great deal of interest and the municipality received several tips about illegal construction. The former councilor at Tjøme was also subject to criticism. The audit company BDO was given the job of investigating the case. Indicted for corruption In autumn 2017, the investigation report was submitted. It revealed serious breaches of ethical rules and procedural errors, but not corruption. According to BDO, there was no difference in the treatment of Breili and other architects. However, in the conversation with former construction case manager Harald Svendsen, it emerged that he and Breili did favors for each other. Among other things, Breili designed a house Svendsen wanted to build on Tjøme. The drawings were signed by Svendsen, so that it looked as if Svendsen had drawn them. The report was sent to the police, who started an investigation into both construction matters and possible corruption. Eventually, Økokrim was also linked to the case. Økokrim investigated the case for two years before bringing charges against Breili and Svendsen. Central to the indictment were the house plans that the then construction case manager got from Breili. Both have explained that this was a friendly service. Rune Breili did not charge for the job, and Økokrim believes that Svendsen’s position in the municipality made this corruption. Both have constantly denied that they have done anything wrong. Revoked acquittal In April 2020, the case went before Vestfold District Court. There, employees in the construction department explained that they were told to approve cases that were in breach of the regulations. In the district court, Breili and Svendsen were sentenced to eight months in prison for gross corruption. They appealed the case. In the Agder Court of Appeal, the two were acquitted. The reason was that it could not be ruled out that the services were provided to the construction case manager as a private person. During the two rounds in court, it emerged that Breili also designed houses for others than Svendsen, without taking payment. Both Breili and Svendsen have always said that they were just friends who helped each other. Økokrim did not agree with this and appealed to the Supreme Court. In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the acquittal. Thus, the case went back to a new hearing in the Court of Appeal.
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New judgment in the Tjøme case – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
