21 July 2023 at 11:06 E24: Ola Borten Moe (Sp) admits a breach of integrity rules 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. 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. – It’s a serious matter, it’s an embarrassing matter, and it’s 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.
ttn-69