On Friday morning, Erna Solberg said that she has been incompetent in several cases as Prime Minister because of Sindre Finnes’ share trading. How did he manage to keep the stock trading under wraps? Sindre Finnes has been left with approximately the same share portfolio at the end of each year. In this way, he has managed to keep his share activity hidden. To understand why, we need to understand how the shareholder register works: In the shareholder register, you can find information about shareholders in all Norwegian limited companies and foreign limited companies on Oslo Børs. Anyone can access this information. The shareholder register shows who owns which shares as of 31 December each year. Because Sindre Finnes’ share holdings largely remained the same on 31 December each year, he was able to hide the activity. – This has been done to hide the extent of the trade from me and from the outside world. It is a serious breach of trust, says Solberg during the press conference on Friday morning. What stocks did he trade? Sindre Finnes has made a total of more than 3,600 share transactions during Erna Solberg’s tenure as prime minister. He has traded shares in many different companies, including the technology and arms company Kongsberg Gruppen, the oil company Equinor and the salmon company Mowi. In addition, he has also bought and sold various financial products, where he has taken more risks and bet on whether the share price in the various companies will go up or down. What is his trading pattern like? Finnes has shopped very often. At the press conference, Erna Solberg said that he has acted far more than he has told her and the Prime Minister’s office. During the pandemic, his activity increased. On March 15, 2021, he bought and sold shares and financial products a total of 62 times. – We would never do that here, and we have people who work full-time here, just to buy shares, says investment director Robert Næss at Nordea. Why is it problematic that he has traded shares? Politicians sit on information that is not publicly available, and they deal with matters that have major consequences for many companies. This can affect the companies’ share price. – We depend on us being sure that politicians only take political considerations into account when they make their decisions. This type of behavior can call into question whether other interests, such as the financial interests of close relatives, can be a part of their decision, says head of Auditing & Compliance at PwC, Gunnar Holm Ringen. Therefore, the politicians must not deal with matters that could have consequences for the companies they or their spouses have shares in. In that case, the politicians must declare themselves disqualified. Erna Solberg says that she has not known about all the share deals of Sindre Finnes. – Due to share transactions I was not aware of, there are cases where I should have declared myself ineligible, says Solberg during the press conference. Another question is whether Sindre Finnes may have acted on the basis of inside information. – When you are close to a high-ranking politician, you will be able to have information or interpret behaviour, statements and information in a different way than society at large, and that can amount to criminal inside information, says Ringen in PwC to news. Erna Solberg said during the press conference that she is absolutely certain that Sindre has never received inside information from her. What happens next now? Økokrim will assess whether there is a basis for further investigation in the case – Økokrim has continuously followed the information that has emerged in the public about Sindre Finnes’ share purchase in recent weeks, now most recently during Erna Solberg’s press conference, writes Økokrim chief Pål K. Lønseth in an e -mail to news. – We will assess whether there are grounds for opening an investigation into possible breaches of the rules in the Securities Trading Act. Økokrim will announce a decision to the public when it is available, he writes further. Head of the control and constitution committee at the Storting, Petter Frølich (H), tells news that this is a serious matter. – It has several similarities with the case of Anniken Huitfeldt, so it is natural that it is included in the control and constitution committee’s ongoing case.
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Sindre Finnes’ share purchase – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
