Prison Sentences For Five Former Glitnir Bankers

Reykjavík District Court yesterday sentenced five Glitnir bankers to four to five years in prison for market manipulation and fraud.

DV reports that former Glitnir stockbroker Elmar Svavarsson, former Glitnir Director of Capital Markets Jóhannes Baldursson and former Glitnir Head of Private Banking (and former football goal keeper) Birkir Kristinsson were sentenced to five years in prison, while former Glitnir Director of Corporate Affairs Magnús A. Arngrímsson received four years.

The accused Glitnir bankers were convicted of having, in November 2007, lent 3.8 million ISK to the company BK-44 ehf., which was owned by Glitnir. This money was then used to buy stocks in Glitnir.

These actions, in the words of the court, displayed “trickery and pretense” in artificially inflating the value of Glitnir.

Ólafur Eiríksson, Birkir’s defense attorney, said that his client was “shocked by the news”, having expected that the case would be dismissed, or that he would be acquitted.

“Having read over the rationale for the decision, it became clear that we would have to appeal this case [to the Supreme Court],” he said.

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