Minister of Finance May Escape Legal Action After Covid Breach

Prosecutions are imminent for recent breaches of COVID regulations in which Minister of Finance Bjarni Benediktsson was implicated. However it seems that – for now – the minister won’t be among those in hot water.

Police were called to a party at Reykjavík’s Ásmundasalur Museum last month due to apparent infractions of pandemic measures. A political scandal ensued after a routine police log mistakenly revealed that “a government minister” had been present at the event, which turned out to be Bjarni.

However, RÚV reports that the individuals named in prosecution documents prepared last week for this case were all connected with the museum, rather than being guests. Whether there will be any wider legal action resulting from the matter is unclear.

Violations of the Epidemiological Control Act are generally punished by fine, ranging from a minimum of 10,000 ISK for an individual failing to wear a mask when required, up to 500,000 ISK for the organiser of an event which breaks the rules.

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