Preferred customers

Channel 2 reported tonight that the Icelandic Police is now investigating transfers of around one hundred billion ISK from Kaupthing in Iceland into foreign bank accounts. The bank’s former management is accused of having brought their preferred customers large amounts on a silver platter.

According to the Channel’s sources, the police were tipped off two weeks ago about several transfers, amounting to one hundred billion ISK to other countries, mainly Luxembourg. The transfers are traced to contracts made with the bank’s largest customers. These contracts mainly revolved around trade in currency that were designed to bring the customers a massive windfall, in a scheme they could only make profits from. The police has asked the Financial Authorities for more information regarding these contracts.

Channel 2 indicates that this is the reason why Minister of Commerce Bjorgvin G. Sigurdsson, will not approve of the sale of Kaupthing in Luxembourg unless they are guaranteed access to all the information needed.

So could this be the reason former CEO Sigurdur Einarsson has been trying to buy the bank in Luxembourg with a Libyan investment team?

Some customers are apparantly more preferred than others.

WSJ: Iceland’s fall

Video on the collapse of Iceland

Iceland gives Christmas frosty reception

Some 2,500 people have applied for Christmas relief packages from Iceland’s three main charities in recent weeks, a 30 per cent rise on last year, as growing numbers of the middle class lose their jobs in the wake of Iceland’s banking collapse.

From the Financial Times

Blow up your favorite economic-terrorists

An explosive New Years Eve tradition in Iceland culminates at midnight when every man, woman and child goes into the streets and ignites an incredible amount of fireworks.

The fireworks are sold by the rescue-teams around the country that are on alert all year round and the profits comprise 2/3 of their annual income.

Usually you can purchase packages of firework that are named after famous vikings and battles that took place in the Saga’s. Now there are new packages available you can blow up, the bank-bomb and the business-vikings-bomb. So you can fill your heart with just rage at these economic-terrorists without anyone being hurt…except maybe their feelings.

Here is how they look, drawings made by local artist Halldor Baldursson.

Valuable employees

Saw this brilliant sketch at the Freedom Fries blog.

It reminds us of the CEO’s of the Icelandic banks who justified their exorbitant wages and bonuses with claims of being so attractive employees who understand complicated business models better than the rest of us.

Funny how no one is hiring the ex-bankers except businesses that need them to clean up their own mess.

The conversation at one Christmas party turned to Bjarni Armannson, ex Glitnir CEO who got away to Norway with billions in ISK and is sitting pretty there while his country is burning. Bjarni was a CEO who needed interior designers for his office and thought his employees idea of fun was listening to him perform karaoke. For the generosity of throwing lavish parties paid by the stockholders many of his former employees still think he was a decent guy who had nothing to do with the mess we are in.

He got away with billions for quitting and within a year Glitnir is bankrupt, accused of all sorts of questionable behavior. Was that money paid to him because he was such a valuable employee? Or was it a bribe for going away and keeping his mouth shut?

Respect

Bjorgolfur Thor is a capitalist pig - A customer of Nova, Bjorgolfur's phone company uses the free t-shirt tool that Nova has been promoting

“I got the respect I wanted,” says Thor. “Now I can begin the second half of my life.”

An article on Bjorgolfur Thor in Forbes

From a guy who will probably have to walk on water, turn water into wine, cure the blind and heal the sick to get his good name back, no matter how much money he acquires.

WSJ: The Isle that rattled the world

In Japan and Hong Kong, bond buyers got stuck holding all-but-worthless debt. In Beverly Hills, a real-estate developer was forced to default after teaming up with an Icelandic bank to build condos near Wilshire Boulevard. A German regional lender, Bayerische Landesbank, suffered big losses on its Icelandic investments contributing to its need for a €30 billion ($42 billion) bailout package.

And in recent weeks, Naomi House, a hospice in southern England, had to cancel a service in which aides made house calls to give the parents of dying children a helping hand. Some £5.7 million ($8.7 million) — two-thirds of its available cash — is frozen and may never be fully returned. It was deposited in an Icelandic bank.

From the Wall Street Journal