The illegal turnover must have been channeled into the defendants’ own accounts and to close family members. The money is then laundered and invested in property. In addition, the indictment covers bank fraud, forgery of documents, Nav fraud and extensive breaches of accounting legislation. The case will be one of the most extensive eco-crime cases in Bergen ever. This is explained by State Attorney Rudolf Christoffersen, who has issued the indictment in a press release. The criminal acts must have gone on for around 10 years before it was discovered by the tax authorities and reported to the police. – Failure in the control system In the autumn of 2019, they started an investigation, and in the autumn of 2022 the investigation was on target. – The case unfortunately also illustrates a failure in the control system when it is possible to own and run a limited company with a turnover of millions and a number of employees at the same time as the top manager of the company receives unemployment benefits from Nav, says Christoffersen. The prosecuting authority will consider filing a claim for confiscation of approx. NOK 25 million, which they believe is the proceeds of the criminal enterprise. This also includes increases in the value of properties that have been bought and/or refurbished with funds from the criminal activity. The main hearing in the case is planned for the autumn of 2023. The court has 60 days to complete the case. According to Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane state attorney’s offices, the investigation has been extensive and required large resources. In total, the documents in the case are to be over 80,000 pages.
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Three defendants in one of the biggest eco-crime cases in Bergen ever – news Vestland
