The recent legal opinion of the National Audit Office regarding the competence of Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson, Progressive Party, during the sale of state owned Búnaðarbanki was seriously flawed.
This is the conclusion of a legal opinion that attorneys Sif Konráðsdóttir and Björn L. Bergson have just issued. The opinion was commissioned by the opposition parties. According to the legal opinion, as soon as the so called S-Group formally notified the government of its interest in buying the bank, the competence of Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson came under question because conflict of interest. Through a company called Skinney-Þinganes, he and his family had material economic ties to the S-Group.
The popularity of Halldór Ásgrímsson’s party, the Progressive Party, is currently at an all time low, scoring under 6 per cent in some polls.
Both parties now in office, the Independence and Progressive parties, have refused to make their finances public.
For background on the banks and the privatization, please see Iceland Review, Daily News, May 31, “Privatization of banks draws heavy fire”; June 14, “Prime Minister’s feelings hurt but announces he has been exonerated”; June 15, “Icelandic banks are vulnerable”; June 17 “Is Russian mafia financing Icelandic expansion abroad?”; and June 27, “Icelanders conned during bank privatization?”
