Asked what happened to the bank’s money, Mr Björgólfsson claimed: “When you lose capital in this way, a lot of money goes to money-heaven. The value that has been wiped off the stock markets, the deposits in the banks and investment funds has gone. [It] has evaporated. It’s a common misunderstanding to ask: where did the money go?”
I am not a criminal, insists billionaire behind Icesave
One of the billionaires behind collapsed internet bank Icesave and its parent Landsbanki has denied being “a criminal” in a dramatic interview about Iceland’s banking crash.
By Rowena Mason
07 Mar 2010
Telegraph
Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson spoke out in a new film ahead of Iceland’s crucial referendum on whether to bear the €4bn (£3.6bn) cost of Icesave’s failure.
Over the weekend, more than 90pc of Iceland’s electorate voted against a deal that would see the country pay back Britain and Holland for compensating 400,000 savers in the two countries.
Mr Björgólfsson and his father, Björgólfur Gudmundsson, the former owner and chairman of West Ham FC, owned 41pc of Landsbanki before it collapsed in October 2008. Asked what he would say to people who describe the bank’s owners as criminal, Mr Björgólfsson replied: “I have nothing to say to them. I am not a criminal and never have been.” He then detaches his microphone and walks off. Read the rest of this entry »
In These New Times 