The Black Report
/04/2010 | 07:00
http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_i...
Iceland Crisis Report: Politicians Received High Loans
Of the list of ten Althingi members who received loans of over ISK 100 million (USD 791,000, EUR 582,000) from the beginning of 2005 until the banks collapsed, which was published in the SIC report, seven were members of the Independence Party.
Vice-chair of the Independence Party, Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, who placed second on the list. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
The list covers the Althingi members who, along with their spouses and associated companies, had an overall loan position of over ISK 100 million (USD 791,000, EUR 582,000) during the period, visir.is reports.
Sólveig Pétursdóttir, former Minister of Justice and later Speaker of the Althingi parliament, is top of the list. At the end of July 2007, the maximum amount connected to her was ISK 3.6 billion (USD 28 million, EUR 21 million).
Most loans were for her husband, Kristinn Björnsson, and of those the highest were through forward contracts.
Loans connected to Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, former Minister of Education and now vice-chair of the Independence Party, amounted in September 2008 to ISK 1.7 billion (USD 13.4 million, EUR 10 million). Most loans were to her husband, Kristján Arason.
Herdís Thórdardóttir, Althingi member for the Independence Party from 2007 to 2009, is in third place. The loans connected to her amounted to ISK 1 billion (USD 7.9 million, EUR 5.8 million) in April 2006. Most were for her husband, Jóhannes Sigurdur Ólafsson or a company under their joint ownership.
Social Democrat and former Althingi member Lúdvík Bergvinsson comes next with ISK 755 million (USD 6 million, EUR 4 million), most of them through a property company, Midklettur holding company, which is 50 percent under his ownership.
Jónína Bjartmarz, Althingi member for the Progressive Party from 2000 to 2007 and former Environment Minister, had loans connected to her amounting to ISK 283 million (USD 2.2 million, EUR 1.7 million) in September 2008. Most were for her husband, Pétur Thór Sigurdsson.
Former Minister of Social Affairs and Progressive Party member Árni Magnússon has ISK 265 million (USD 2.1 million, EUR 1.5 million), most through Glitnir. He was hired as director of the bank in 2006.
Ármann K. Ólafsson, former MP for the Independence Party and current chairman of the town council of Kópavogur, had loans connected to him up to ISK 248 million (USD 2 million, EUR 1.4 million) in August 2007.
Chair of the Independence Party Bjarni Benediktsson had loans amounting to ISK 174 million (USD 1.4 million, EUR 1 million) in January 2008. Most of Benedíktsson’s loans were with Glitnir, either through direct loans or through forward contracts.
Ásta Möller from the Independence Party has ISK 141 million (USD 1.1 million, EUR 820,000), most of the loans connected to her husband Haukur Thór Hauksson.
Another Independence Party Althingi member, Ólöf Nordal, has loans of ISK 131 million (USD 1 million, EUR 762,000), most connected to her husband.
The list thus contains seven Independence Party members, one Social Democrat and two Progressive Party members.
Article in Citywire
Icelandic bank crisis report shows how slow FSA was to react
By Iain Martin | 08:19:03 | 21 April 2010
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was blanked and bluffed by Icelandic bankers for months over the ticking Icesave time bomb.
A 2000-page Icelandic report into the 2008 banking crisis which almost bankrupted the tiny island country reveals the behind-the-scenes talks between the FSA, the Icelandic government and Landsbanki. It shows the FSA waited seven months before pulling the plug on Landsbanki, of which Icesave was the online savings arm, despite being faced with mounting evidence that the bank was not strong enough to survive.
Trouble brews
Landsbanki entered the UK quietly by buying specialist lender Heritable Bank in 2005. Desperate to develop a new source of funding, it launched Icesave in October 2006. Icesave went on to hold around £5.5 billion of deposits, but when Landsbanki left the UK it went with a bang.
Newspapers began questioning the stability of the Icelandic banks in February 2008, concerns which were shared by Mervyn King and the Bank of England, according to Davíð Oddsson, former chairman of Iceland’s central bank.
King had good reason to be worried. Online saving customers pulled around £1 billion, or 20% of its deposits, out of Icesave between 10 February and 22 April 2008. The outgoing flow of funds from Icesave was so rapid that in March 2008 Landsbanki was just six days from collapse, according to the report.
A problem with Icesave was a problem for Iceland as Landsbanki would draw on the Icelandic deposit guarantee scheme in the event of disaster. The Icelandic financial regulator was also responsible for supervising the liquidity of Landsbanki and Icesave.
FSA slow to react
The FSA only stepped in halfway through the first run on Icesave, telling Landsbanki on 14 March to turn it into a UK subsidiary which would give savers the protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
The FSA also asked Landsbanki to transfer 20% of its assets to the UK subsidiary to back these deposits. However, debt-laden Landsbanki could not afford to lose control over the Icesave cash or its assets and began a cat and mouse game with the FSA.
Arguably Landsbanki was merely delaying the inevitable. ‘The likelihood that the Icelandic banks would get through this [was] very, very small,’ said Sigurjón Árnason, former chief executive of Landsbanki. The Icelandic bankers stalled negotiations with the FSA until September 2008 while concerns about a second and fatal run on Icesave grew.
Landsbanki’s smoke screen
Meanwhile Landsbanki put together a plan to hoodwink the FSA through a complicated currency swap and loan deal with the Icelandic central bank. According to former central bank governor Eirkiur Guðnason, the deal was supposed to hide the rotten state of its loan book. Guðnason quizzed Árnason on why the scheme was so complex. An account of their conversation in the report reads:
‘Árnason had then answered that the regulatory authority abroad did not understand these loans,’ claimed Guðnason. Guðnason then claimed to have asked: ‘And is that because the regulatory authority abroad is so stupid or the loans so bad?’ To which Árnason then replied: “Probably both”.’
The involvement of chancellor Alistair Darling in September raised the stakes and the nationalisation of Iceland’s third biggest bank Glitnir on 29 September marked the end for Landsbanki. The FSA toughened its stance and used its powers to demand Landsbanki comply with its earlier liquidity request. FSA chief executive Hector Sants (pictured) followed this with a demand for £200 million of extra liquidity to be delivered within 24 hours on 5 October as money streamed out of Icesave.
‘So if you want to continue as a bank I think you have to give us £200 million tomorrow morning,’ said Sants in a phone conference with Landsbanki, the report shows.
The London branch of Landsbanki was closed on the evening of 6 October and the Icelandic government nationalised Landsbanki on 7 October. The Treasury issued a freezing order on all Landsbanki’s assets in the UK the following day to protect the interests of the British economy.
However, Conservative MP Michael Fallon questioned why the FSA had not taken action earlier. ‘The FSA have questions to answer as to why they didn’t alert retail investors,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘We had too feeble a regulator.’
Pointing the finger
The hard-hitting report from the Althingi Special Commission has poured scorn on the Icelandic banking sector, central bank and financial regulator. Explosive growth at the big three Icelandic banks, Landsbanki, Kaupthing and Glitnir, which increase in size by 20 times in seven years, doomed them to failure, the report claimed.
The three banks also supported and bailed out the business interests of their billionaire owners. The report points to Landsbanki’s backing of Baugur, which bought a number of high streets brands and was owned by Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, who with his father, was one of the key shareholders in the bank.
‘The operations of the banks were in many ways characterised by their maximising the benefit of the majority shareholders, who held the reins within the banks, rather than by running reliable banks with the interests of all shareholders,’ said Sigrídur Benediktsdóttir, one of report’s commissioners.
The report also reserved scorn for the Icelandic regulators and politicians who supervised the demise of Icelandic banking. The financial regulator, FME, was slammed for being inexperienced and understaffed while the central bank failed to keep sufficient foreign currency reserves to back its swollen banks. The deposit guarantee fund had only set aside £88 million to cover £13.6 billion worth of deposits.
Althingi has carried out a full and frank postmortem of this small country’s banking crisis which is far from over. The charge of gross negligence against its former prime minister, finance minister and two central bank governors could end in legal action, as could untangling the banks’ byzantine loan books.
The report sets the record straight but does nothing for the UK and Dutch governments, which are still owed £3.4 billion by Iceland, or the British consumers left out of pocket after saving with Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Isle of Man and Landsbanki
Well what a surprise!!
http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/search/news/Default.asp?ew_0_a_id...
19.03.2010 | 11:30
Tax Evasion at Icelandic Banks Before Collapse
The Icelandic banks avoided paying approximately ISK 100 billion (USD 790 million, EUR 580 million) in taxes for derivatives trading before their collapse in the autumn of 2008, according to an investigation undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Finance.
The headquarters of Glitnir Bank in Reykjavík. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
The Directorate of Tax Investigations and other related offices will be reinforced with 20 new employees for further investigation of this extensive tax evasion, Stöd 2 reports.
The investigation was aimed at the executives of the banks, employees and large customers. Derivatives trading, along with dealing with shares, write-offs of loans and contracted service from foreign institutions were investigated.
“It appears, unfortunately, that extensive tax evasion was practiced, especially in regard to derivatives trading,” said Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon. Some of these cases will be referred to the Special Prosecutor.
The minister said everything would be done to collect the unpaid taxes, pointing out that a bill has been submitted to parliament to authorize the freezing of assets in case of tax evasion. “It is very important that this matter will be handled quickly.”
RÚV calls this practice a “black economy” within the banks.
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Assets of Tycoons in Iceland to Be Frozen
http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_i...
21/04/2010 | 19:30
Assets of Tycoons in Iceland to Be Frozen
The assets of businessmen Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson and Hannes Smárason in Iceland will likely be frozen in relation to the tax authority’s investigation of their affairs and the affairs of the companies they were in charge of.
Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson.
Hannes Smárason. Photos by Páll Stefánsson.
According to visir.is, this story will be reported in the weekly business newspaper Vidskiptabladid tomorrow.
Vidskiptabladid’s sources reveal that the assets that will be frozen are worth hundreds of millions of ISK. The newspaper states that Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon had indicated that these measures would be taken after a cabinet meeting on Friday.
On Friday Sigfússon was asked whether he planned to do something to prevent the main players of the economic collapse from regaining control of their companies.
Sigfússon replied that the tax authority was conducting extensive investigation that is related to many of these individuals. Charges will likely be filed soon and the assets of suspects frozen, the minister said.
Click here to read about the tax evasion that took place at the Icelandic banks before their collapse.
Click here to read more about the affairs of Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson and here to read a recent story about Hannes Smárason.
HELLO OUT THERE! Can you help me?
I am trying to cast my maind back to the very early days of this site after the bank collapsed. I remember there were comments by members who had tried to make withdrawals just days before the bank collapse. Something in the back of my mind reminds me that there was some alleged question of a family member, of either the bank directors of regulatory bodies, of either the parent bank or one of its subsidiaries, making a withdrawal at the same time and being successful in their withdrawal. Anyone remember this or still have details of this alleged withdrawal? A long time ago and much has passed but need help if anyone has a bettr memory than me.
Aborted withdrawal requests
I sent a letter to KSFIOM at the beginning of September 08 requesting a partial withdrawal at the beginning of October to fund the purchase of a property. I actually actioned the transfer instruction on 3 October.
I phoned the bank many times on Monday 6th October and again on Tuesday 7th Oct as my account had not yet been debited. On 7th October am Aidan Doherty confirmed that the transfer would be completed on that day. In the event my account was debited the same day and I have a copy of the Swift transfer dated 8th October.
I made a second transfer instruction on 7th October but this instruction was never actioned and my account was consequently never debited.
I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT THAT THE FIRST TRANSFER WAS STOPPED AT THE CLEARING BANK STAGE IN GB. THE REALITY IS THAT KSFIOM HAD THE NECESSARY FUNDS IN ITS ACCOUNT WITH KSFUK AND BOTH KSFUK AND KSFIOM WERE STILL TRADING ON THAT DATE. EITHER AS A RESULT OF GOVERNMENT INSTRUCTIONS OR DUE TO ARBRITARY DECISIONS MADE BY THE CLEARING BANK MY TRANSFER (AND THOSE OF OTHERS) WAS NEVER COMPLETED.
I strongly suspect that there is a degree of illegality about what happened but the bankers (in conjunction with the Treasury) have constructed a wall of silence around this affair. I can smell the stink from where I am sitting despite the separation of a body of water.
The fact that the transfers of others (better connected) were completed only adds salt to the wounds.
This is however not surprising since the financial services industry has always been rife with insider trading, Chinese walls notwithstanding.
Frankly speaking I have given up wasting my time on this as I want to get on with my life.
Brabander
Very wise Brabander.
Very wise Brabander.
ABORTED WITHDRAWAL REQUESTS FORGERY and FALSE ACCOUNTING
I similarly had a transfer instruction "carried out" but never received. After many requests and promises I was sent a copt of the MT103 except it wasn't any such thing. It was a bodged excerpt from an email with most relevant information blanked out. This was provided to me by Simpson and when I advised him that my bank had confirmed that this document was a forgery he stated that it was not his job to investigate. fraud.
I complained to the regulator the FSC and received the same answer!! I asked them what was their job and didn't receive a reply. When I approached the liquidators of KSFUK about my frozen funds I was told that they would claim punitive costs from me for wasting their time answering my queries!
There is no justice left in the IOM nor even UK and unlike MP's I do not qualify for legal aid so cannot take this further at the moment. I do have lots of emails which one day will show up many of these so called professional for what they really are.
Aborted Withdrawl
I also gave written instuctions, hand deliverd on the 02/08 but the funds never went. When questioned they say they forgot to put my account number on the transfer, so the funds got returned. How convenient again. Where is the whistle blower, too many mistakes to be true from so called professional people? Funny how the same mistakes were not made for Davies and Doherty?
@Glen 7 - Hopefully helpful
@Glen07
No allegation - documented in the Tywenald SC meeting proceedings of 13th November 2009 -
Mr Doherty's mother in-law took her money out to buy a house sometime between March and October 2008 (he was never asked when exactly as far as I can make out)
Mr Davies withdrew his money on the 6th of October 2008
Anrigaut has made several requests for information about depositers whose withdrawls on 6th or just before were not processed.
I hope Hopeful (see below) has forwarded her his/her information.
The directors still contend that they new nothing of the impending crash until it happened. Since they could not meet all cash payments in early October, this seems very unlikely to those outside looking in. John Aspden at the FSC was quoted as saying at the last Tywenald SC meeting that the FSC was trying to stop the banks collapse right up to the 8th October - somewhat contradictory if you ask me.
@ hopeful, expatvictim and anrigaut. Many thanks to you.
Thanks for jogging my memory and replying so swiftly.
With the news coming from Iceland, the media, etc of impending disaster, you'd have had to have had your head stuck some feet under the ground to not notice the sudden run on cash within the bank. All I can say is that the directors were not reading between the lines of the parent bank statements and seeing the Icelandic banks, according to the Special Investigation Commission, as making the classic banking practices mistakes, which school children learn about which will ultimately lead to bank failure. Did the FSC not detect the bank's weak equity as like companies, like Merrill Lynch and the media, i.e., The Times, had warned of as early as 2006. Does it not behove a bank subsidiary and its financial regulator to keep a close eye on parent banking statistics, loans, share holding etc. How can you plead ignorance? Surely the duty of directors and the financial regulator is not to be complacent but to be fully aware of the banking practices, ownership, share holdings and equity of the parent bank and to ensure that the Central Bank of Iceland had sufficient foreign monetary reserves to back up the foreign deposits. If they didn't notice this then what exactly did they think their role was to the depositors? Beggars belief!
Glen07 non actioned has been reported
Hi
You no longer have to hope as my situation was reported to Anrigaut when she first requested this information.
Glen07 - re non-actioned withdrawal demands
Despite all the talk of non-actioned transactions (as opposed to those which were initiated by KSFIOM but blocked in flight), the response to our appeals for details produced very little usable evidence. Most reports concerned attempts to withdraw from fixed term accounts after the moratorium on early withdrawals was implemented on 2 October 2008. Finally, just three cases, of which Hopeful's was one, were submitted with our latest evidence and questions to the Select Committee prior to the last hearing.
Glen07 Attempted withdrawals
Hi
I remember a message/s on the site in the early days about this but I would imagine it would take a long time to track down the posting/s to get more details regarding the alleged person/s involved..
I am one of those that made a withdrawal request a considerable time before the banks collapse and whilst the bank confirmed back to me that they would make the the withdrawal it was never actioned. When I queried this with the bank a few days after the collapse the lady on the end of the phone simply said that she was sorry as there was not enough time for the staff to action the considerable number of withdrawal requests and therefore it was a lottery if you made it or not.
The problem is assuming you are able to discover the names of the persons connected to the bank that made succesful withdrawals, the bank will just say that as a consequence of the heavy workload some people were lucky and others were not. Sorry I cant help more
Gotcha Paddy!
Wasn't his evidence given (under oath?) that he had no indication of problems. Yet the bank was under a run with too many requested withdrawls for them to process. When did the run start? Can we obtain dates for the earliest non-processed withdrawl applications? Looks very bad for the manager & board to me, a surge in transfers but they had no idea why. Pull the other one.
Where's the whistleblower?
Last rollover date?
Can we obtain through the COI the date of the last rollover on the unsecured loan? If it is close to 8th October this will prove gross negligence. Let it be close, & after the start of the run, please. I think I'll have a glass of wine now.
Arny, its in the PPDG
Arny, its in the PPDG evidence tio the Enquiry and was raised a question. The last rollover date was Sept 14th.
The Central Bank of Iceland and its Russian dream
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2010/04/19/the-central-bank-of-iceland-a...
Posted on19 April 2010.
Seðlabankinn2Attempts by the Central Bank of Iceland to strengthen its foreign currency reserves in the lead up to the banking crash were characterised by desperation and internal anarchy, according to a bank economist.
The Central Bank went public on 7th October 2008 with news that Russia had provided Iceland with a four billion dollar loan to strengthen the krona. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had personally signed off on the deal. But it later emerged that the revelation had been built on a serious misunderstanding and there was actually no loan at all.
The very same day, the Central Bank decided to peg the krona’s exchange rate. But the peg was dropped after just one day and had been built on nothing more than the bank governors’ wishful thinking, Central Bank economist Thorarinn G. Petursson told the banking collapse parliamentary investigators – adding that the Bank had been totally rudderless.
He particularly points to the Central Bank’s release of the Russia loan news, saying that Governor David Oddsson wanted to make the message public at the first possible opportunity in order to beat the Ministry of Finance to it. Petursson told the committee that he believes the handling of the banking collapse was an all-time low point in the story of the Central Bank of Iceland.
The Central Bank of Iceland and its Russian dream
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2010/04/19/the-central-bank-of-iceland-a...
Posted on19 April 2010.
Seðlabankinn2Attempts by the Central Bank of Iceland to strengthen its foreign currency reserves in the lead up to the banking crash were characterised by desperation and internal anarchy, according to a bank economist.
The Central Bank went public on 7th October 2008 with news that Russia had provided Iceland with a four billion dollar loan to strengthen the krona. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had personally signed off on the deal. But it later emerged that the revelation had been built on a serious misunderstanding and there was actually no loan at all.
The very same day, the Central Bank decided to peg the krona’s exchange rate. But the peg was dropped after just one day and had been built on nothing more than the bank governors’ wishful thinking, Central Bank economist Thorarinn G. Petursson told the banking collapse parliamentary investigators – adding that the Bank had been totally rudderless.
He particularly points to the Central Bank’s release of the Russia loan news, saying that Governor David Oddsson wanted to make the message public at the first possible opportunity in order to beat the Ministry of Finance to it. Petursson told the committee that he believes the handling of the banking collapse was an all-time low point in the story of the Central Bank of Iceland.
The Central Bank of Iceland and its Russian dream
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2010/04/19/the-central-bank-of-iceland-a...
Posted on19 April 2010.
Seðlabankinn2Attempts by the Central Bank of Iceland to strengthen its foreign currency reserves in the lead up to the banking crash were characterised by desperation and internal anarchy, according to a bank economist.
The Central Bank went public on 7th October 2008 with news that Russia had provided Iceland with a four billion dollar loan to strengthen the krona. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had personally signed off on the deal. But it later emerged that the revelation had been built on a serious misunderstanding and there was actually no loan at all.
The very same day, the Central Bank decided to peg the krona’s exchange rate. But the peg was dropped after just one day and had been built on nothing more than the bank governors’ wishful thinking, Central Bank economist Thorarinn G. Petursson told the banking collapse parliamentary investigators – adding that the Bank had been totally rudderless.
He particularly points to the Central Bank’s release of the Russia loan news, saying that Governor David Oddsson wanted to make the message public at the first possible opportunity in order to beat the Ministry of Finance to it. Petursson told the committee that he believes the handling of the banking collapse was an all-time low point in the story of the Central Bank of Iceland.
Eva Joly Satisfied with Iceland Crisis Report
20/04/2010 | 00:00
http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_i...
Norwegian-French magistrate Eva Joly, who serves as assistant to Iceland’s Special Prosecutor for the banking collapse, said the report published by the Special Investigative Committee on April 12, which analyzes the causes of the collapse, is well written.
Eva Joly (right) meets Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir on Friday. Courtesy of the Prime Minister's Office.
Joly told ruv.is that the report shows bravery, which is rarely seen, and provides investigators with a correct picture of the events that led to the collapse in October 2008.
Now the Special Prosecutor’s office requires reinforcement, Joly said, a staff of 80 instead of 29 and more funding.
Joly met Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir for the first time on Friday and said the PM had convinced her that the Icelandic government would do everything in its power to provide investigators with the resources they need.
Joly also said that people would soon see the results of the Special Prosecutor’s investigation and that the first charges will be filed in the coming months.
What questions, in view of report, would you want asked?
I'm sure, like me, you are flabberghasted that the UK and IOM regulatory bodies, with their historical experience in banking, did not hear the "warning bells" earlier than admitted. All the clues were there for a banking system, set up, like some game of Monopoly, to keep taking money, to pay back loans, to buy shares, to pay back loans, to get more money loaned, a sort of private banking for the Icelandic elite to expand their empires and fulfil their political, financial and social dreams.
Having read the Report I am sure that many of you are brimming with questions that you would like asked at any investigative meeting, wherever that should be. If you do have any relevant questions, could you post them in simple question form. Feel free to add any feelings or thoughts but can you clearly outline the question you want asked seperately to these feelings.
Thanks
Just to expand on this, Glen
Just to expand on this, Glen and I are reading or have read everything we can find and are beginning to get a set of questions that might be put to the IoM Enquiry, based on the latest exposure of this mess. PPDG have committed themselves to doing this as well. So if anyone has spotted something, has any knowledge or evidence that can start to get closer to what did or didn't happen on the IoM we'd be obliged if you'd let us know. So put simply we're looking for stuff in the Black Report that may have linkage to IoM. We have found things, but it'd be nice to get other views.
It all helps and the more eyes looking the better.
Thanks Expat
Read and fill in poll
Have put in a poll ( haven't had one of those in a few months) about your response to the Black Report.
Kaupthing bank manager takes massive loan to buy bank shares!!!
http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_i...
17/04/2010 | 14:30
Independence Party Vice Chairman Resigns, Takes a Leave from Althingi Because of Report
Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Vice Chairman of the Indepnedence Party and former Minister of Educaton announced this morning at a party conference that she has decided to step down as vice chairman and take a temporary leave of absence from Althingi, Iceland’s Parliament. She believes that her presence in Althingi could disturb the work in connection with the report of the investigative committee. Gunnardóttir said: “I find that my credibility as a politician is damaged because of the report and because of you, my party, I take this decision.”
Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir. Photo Iceland Review
She was not one of three ministers mentioned in the report as having possibly neglected their duties. However, it was revealed that her husband, one of the top level manager at Kaupthing Bank, had taken loans amounting to 1.8 billion IS, (approximately 10 million €) to buy shares in the bank. Gunnarsdóttir was elected Vice Chairman in 2005, at the same time as Geir H. Haarde took over the chairmanship from David Oddsson.
The Independence Party is the leading opposition party.
What has Iceland done for
What has Iceland done for Britain?
Vast clouds of volcanic dust from Iceland have grounded planes in Britain and much of northern Europe, creating chaos for travellers. Which begs the question: what has Iceland done for us lately?
By Georgia Graham
Published: 8:00AM BST 17 Apr 2010
1) They went to war with us. Over cod.
At the same time as the Cold War began in earnest, another confrontation with Britain was brewing. The Iceland Cod Wars were a series of confrontation in the 1950s and 1970s over fishing rights in the north Atlantic.
An agreement was finally reached between where the Britain accepted the Icelandic annexation to the detriment of Britain's already declining fisheries.
2) They gave us Bjork
Probably Iceland's most famous export, the singer is a national treasure. And after over a decade of her grating voice and "eclectic" style it's about time they took her back.
Her most famous song "It's Oh so Quiet"creeps back onto our airwaves every Christmas season - despite being released 15 years ago. And she wore a swan and she ruined Joni Mitchells "Boho Dance".
3) They took our money and won't give it back
In October 2008, three of Iceland's banks – Kaupthing , Glitnir and Landsbanki – tanked and 300,000 people were left unable to access their money.
And it wasn't just individuals that suffered – every person in Britain was hit by the crisis as local authorities lost £1bn – or 5pc of all the money from council tax.
While Britain was struggling with bailouts of its own, the Treasury was forced to pay out £7.5bn to British savers with internet accounts with Landsbanki's Icesave and Kaupthing's Edge and 2,000 savers in Guernsey who had £117m in Landsbanki accounts lost their entire savings with no compensation.
4) They run Hamleys the consumer's favourite 'tourist attraction'
People describe the London toy shop Hamleys as a British institution. But Hamleys is not British. It is an Icelandic-owned tourist trap. Baugur owns 75 pc of the business. Last year Bauger debts hit £1bn. So not only does Iceland run the most consumerist tourist attraction in Britain, it almost broke it - and lost 200 jobs.
5) No word for please
Iceland's language makes British manners impossible to impart - there is no word for please.
Icelandic does offer 45 different ways to say the word green, however. Useful.
6) They made granny jumpers cool
Icelanders don't want us to look chic. They want us to look like shapeless Icelandic grannies in their "lopapeysa" wooly jumpers.
7) They killed our 2010 European Championship Handball hopes
In the run up to London 2012, the British handball team needs all the practice it can get. But last week, our women's team was defeated twice by Iceland in Group Play qualifier matches for the 2010 European Championships.
Iceland took the first match in London 27-16 and the second match in Reykjavik 40-20, leaving Great Britain without a win in four matches and unlikely to qualify for the European Championships.
8) Lazy Town
Through LazyTown, one Icelandic man inflicted on Britain one of the most annoying children's TV programme of the decade.
The series was created by Icelandic gymnastic champion Magnus Scheving. The show's main character, Stephanie, spends her days with the super-healthy hero of the show – Sportacus – who hails from "an island in the North Sea".
Robbie Rotten, meanwhile, is always trying to get the kids to do evil things like eat junk food and stop exercising.
A total of 52 episodes of the show have been produced and syndicated around the world.
9) They almost broke West Ham
Not content with bankrupting their country, Iceland also had a go at bankrupting one of our best-loved football teams. Chairman Eggert Magnusson quickly made himself the most unpopular Icelander ever to grace the London's East End.
After his departure was criticised by new co-Chairman David Gold for deals like the £80,000-a-week contract for 30-year-old injury prone Freddie Ljungberg.
When he came out to defend himself, he claimed he had made all decisions with the "full knowledge and support of the owner." And the owner is? Billionaire Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson of course - born in Reykjavík, Iceland, a man who also had a 45pc share in failed Iceland bank Landsbanki.
10) Iceland the supermarket
Not technically Icelandic, but their adverts helped re-launch the career of Kerry Katona.
I would make the point that I personally do agree with all of the points made, I think Robbie Rotten is terrific!! But my friend in New Zealand is apoplectic about what Iceland has done to his beloved West Ham United!
Iceland not Icelandic ?
I'm also a Robbie Rotten fan - can't wait to see how he gets his comeuppance, (must have seen all 52 episodes three times over - the joys of fatherhood).
On point 10 it is worth noting, if only for the sake of it and if not then to show how little research journalists do these days. Iceland Foods is (or was until its demise) owned by a consortium led by Bauger (that very Icelandic company).
Other tid-bits that strike a nerve:
Baugur was a major shareholder in Booker - same as KSFIOM.
The Iceland Foods CEO, instated when the Baugur consortium took over, had previously been accused of insider trading (He was subsequently cleared).
Baugur founders (the Johanessons) were reportedly charged with 40 counts of fraud and embezzlement - only one charge stuck.
Iceland (the food store) supplies Shoprite stores on the Isle of Man
Kerry Katona (who ever she is- I've been living outside of the UK too long) was declared bankrupt last year and at the beginning of this year it was reported that her 1.5M GBP house was being repossesed since she couldn't keep up with the payments. Lets just hope that the mortgage was not with KSFIOM. (She has also allegedly claimed that someone was siphoning of her payments for doing advertising work for Iceland).
@expatvictim
So it's no good me offering you my daughters Lazy Town DVDs then!!
I'm afraid not. Youll have to
I'm afraid not. Youll have to watch them all again.
Add a comment to Guardian Article
Worth adding a comment in the Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/13/iceland-truth-commit...
Copies of Black report
These can be found on this webite:
http://sic.althingi.is/
Former Icelandic Government "Negligent" Before Bank Meltdown
Former Icelandic Government "Negligent" Before Bank Meltdown
2010-04-13
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/04/13/2041s562669.htm
"An official investigation report on Monday said the former Icelandic government was negligent in the lead-up to the collapse of the Nordic nation's three main banks, according to reports reaching here from Reykjavik.
The Special Investigation Commission (SIC) delivered its report on the bank meltdown to the Icelandic parliament, blaming that former government officials had ignored warning signals and failed to take necessary actions to fight the upcoming economic disaster, local newspaper Iceland Review said.
The SIC also concluded that the former government's actions in banking affairs at the beginning of 2008 were "unsystematic" and that ministers had focused too intently on the image problems of financial companies instead of the obvious problem that the Icelandic banking system was far too large compared with the size of the economy, the report said.
"Actions should have been taken no later than 2006 for there to have been a possibility of preventing the collapse of the banks without compromising the value of their assets," the report said.
Consisting of independent experts, the investigative commission was established by the Icelandic parliament in December 2008. The report is the first comprehensive analysis of the causes of the bank meltdown in the midst of the global financial crisis in 2008.
Iceland has been hard hit by the global financial crisis. Its three biggest banks - Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir - collapsed under the weight of billions of dollars of debts accumulated in an aggressive overseas expansion.
The collapse shattered the currency and forced Iceland to seek aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other countries."
N.B.. So, having invested in the bank, after 2006, there was no chance that my money wasn't going to go down the pan!!!! And to think that I fell for the AAA credit ranking. What was Moody's thinking of? All those guarantees, worthless!