Iceland jails bankers for market manipulation
Right to left: Árnason, Gunnarsson and Sigfúsdóttir.
Two Landsbanki bankers have been sentenced to a total of five years in prison by the Icelandic Supreme Court for breach of trust and market manipulation.
The case at hand, known as the ‘Ímon case’, involves a ISK 5 billion (€35.2 million) loan from Landsbanki to a company called Ímon to buy shares in the bank itself just before it collapsed in the Icelandic financial crash of 2008.
Landsbanki, unable to buy any more of its own shares and eager to protect the bank’s share price, lent the money to Ímon to buy the shares for them and thereby disguise the real imminent situation.
In a previous hearing of the case at a district court, just one of the three defendants – Steinþór Gunnarsson – was convicted (nine months imprisonement). Sigurjón Þ. Árnason, former Landsbanki CEO, and Sigríður Elín Sigfúsdóttir were acquitted.
These acquittals were overturned today by the Icelandic Supreme Court and Árnason and Sigfúsdóttir were sentenced to 3½ years and 1½ years in prison, respectively.
Landsbanki. Photo: Hjörtur
