For Hauksson, 52, now Iceland’s district prosecutor in charge of investigating all major crimes on the island, is the only person in the west to have jailed a big bank’s chief executive. This is not to say this boy had somehow taken his lead from those around him or that the corruption at the top our society mysteriously trickles down. Arrest Warrant Issued By Interpol For Sigurður Einarsson The former banking executive, who lives in West London, publicly blamed Gordon Brown for Kaupthing’s collapse in October 2008. Claire Bernish October 29, 2015 Iceland — First, Iceland jailed its crooked bankers for their direct involvement in the financial crisis of 2008Now, every Icelander will receive a payout for the sale of one of its three largest banks, Íslandsbanki. The clearest example of why such regulation and cultural change are essential in the banking and beyond, presented to me some years ago, and in an unexpected way. All of the criminal cases are linked to the notorious crash of the Icelandic banking system in 2008. He almost certainly did not begin the day tipping out full pints of cider. Whilst banks - such as the five found to be rigging the Libor rate - have been hit with substantial fines, the individual bankers behind the fraud, market rigging and irresponsible lending that led to the economic meltdown have all avoided time behind bars. This article contains some material previously published by the author on Huffington Post. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote. Agence France-Presse. (Bloomberg). Both countries' banks went bust, both got bailed out by the International Monetary Fund, and both did austerity afterward. Iceland: Icelandic Bankers Jailed for Fraud (July 30, 2014) In a decision issued by the Reykjavik district court on December 12, 2013, two bank directors were among the parties imprisoned for fraud in connection with the banking crisis of 2008. Iceland Jailed Bankers and Rejected Austerity -- and It’s Been a Success Lars Plougmann / CC BY 2.0 When the global economic crisis hit in 2008, Iceland suffered terribly — … Eleven Icelandic former bankers have been sentenced to at least 4½ years in prison. He was showing the same behaviour of governments who prop up brutal dictators, sell arms to the highest bidder or wage wars of aggression for the sake of power and profit. Inflation of consumer prices was running at 14%, and Iceland's interest rates had been raised to 15.5% to deal with the high inflation. This brings the total number of senior Icelandic bankers so far sentenced for crimes in the run-up to the 2008 banking crash to 29. After glancing around to check no one was looking, he picked up the drink. IMAGINE THAT. Read the leading stories from the world of business. Bankers jailed, sued as Iceland seeks culprits for crisis. Two of Iceland's most senior former bankers have been jailed for making reckless business loans, following investigations stemming from the collapse of the country's banks in 2008. This entry was posted in Banking industry , Economic fundamentals , Guest Post , Legal on September 27, 2014 by Yves Smith . Still, fears of crony capitalism remain. The Icelandic króna had declined more than 35% against the euro from January to September 2008. 10 years ago. By jailing four top officers of Iceland's failed Kaupthing Bank, the country showed the world the right way to deal with the people largely responsible for the 2008 financial crisis, said Charlie McGrath, founder of news website, Wide Awake News. Iceland's jailed bankers say they were scapegoats for the financial crisis They’re taking their cases to the European Court of Human Rights. There’s one country that’s actually making the wizards behind the global financial collapse pay for their crimes. 18, we're $4,500 in the red for the year. Subscribe here to our free email list for two information-packed emails per week. If I could step back in time I wish I had acted more swiftly. I wish I had confronted that boy outside the cider bus and told him that the pint he had just tipped away was mine. Iceland has jailed 26 bankers, why won't we? By contrast not a single senior banking executive in the US or the UK has been jailed for their role in the financial crisis. On top of this came news last week that Britain's financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, has shelved a planned inquiry into the culture of banking. 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So while it’s true that Iceland jailed bankers, tentatively recovered after being badly affected by 2008 global financial meltdown, and has historically enjoyed remarkably low rates of … Iceland Continues To Grow Using ‘Startups’ By Replacing ‘Banks’: Iceland Refused To Bailout Rothschild’s Corrupt Banking Cabal. They are also being sued so that they will actually have to pay back the billions that are lining […] Monday to Friday. As of Mar. This field is required Iceland Just Jailed Dozens of Corrupt Bankers for 74 Years, The Opposite of What America Does Jay Syrmopoulos October 21, 2015 Reykjavik, Iceland – In stark contrast to the record low number of prosecutions of CEO’s and high-level financial executives in the U.S., Iceland has just sentenced 26 bankers to a combined 74 years in prison. May 13, 2010. were sentenced to 25 years. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter, Journalist; Writer; Broadcaster; and Human Rights Campaigner. on. Iceland's special prosecutor indicted the two former chief executives for their roles in approving the €35m loan just three months before the collapse of the bank. Iceland has sentenced it’s 26th banker to prison for the role each banker played in the 2008 global economic collapse. May 13, 2010. 10 years ago. Today is National Voter Registration Day! So far, Iceland has sentenced 26 bankers to a combined 74 years in prison. By. This brings the total number of senior Icelandic bankers so far sentenced for crimes in the run-up to the 2008 banking crash to 29. Reykjavik, Iceland – In stark contrast to the record low number of prosecutions of CEO’s and high-level financial executives in the U.S., Iceland has just sentenced 26 bankers to a combined 74 years in prison.. Sign Up, Dad captures hearts with videos of him singing to dying son, Dr Mike Ryan: 'We're expecting the virus to slow down and we're pushing the accelerators', Take a look at Ireland's largest domestic passenger ferry, linking Galway and the Aran Islands, Ireland's latest vaccine rollout in figures, Aer Lingus owner IAG cautious on short-term flying recovery, The battle to turn lockdown savers into spenders, Deals like CETA are no longer about free trade, EU clampdown targets Chinese state-sponsored takeover deals, Cuisine de France owner Aryzta completes the sale of North American business. I'm sure that there was nothing inherently bad about the boy. Executives At Collapsed Iceland Bank Jailed For Fraud Since the end… By pouring away someone else's £4 pint in order to get 10p in his pocket, the boy was displaying the same instincts as the bankers who maximised their profits, heedless of the damage being caused to the global financial system. Menu They were sentenced by the Reykjavik District Court after the two men were indicted a year ago on charges that they had "misused their position and grossly endangered the bank's funds" by lending €102m to a company called Milestone ehf without guarantees or collateral, the prosecutor said. Perhaps he might have learned a valuable lesson. He was showing the same motivation of those working for big corporations that exploit our planet's natural resources regardless of environmental and human costs. For bankers, risky sales were incentivised with enormous bonuses, and bad debt was insured against with credit default swaps. He was hanging around a nearby table surreptitiously eyeing-up a full but unattended pint. I was at a weekend music festival, in a sunny field talking with friends outside a double-decker cider bus when my eye was drawn to a boy who could not have been older than ten. Former employers of Landsbankinn got 13 years in total. 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