Mar.25, 2010, 14:39

Imprisoned

An Oslo man in his 30s has been indicted for tax fraud totalling 17.8 million kroner, as well as being jailed for trying to launder money to the value of 260 million by buying and selling climate quotas with dirty money on credit.

Although Oslo police say they don’t wish to comment on the case for investigative reasons, their lawyer Asbjørg Lykkjen tells VG there might be further summons on the way.

“We received a court ruling to put him in jail for four weeks on 18 March on the grounds of his citation for tax swindle and receiving stolen property in connection with trading climate quotas,” she says.

GCT, the man’s company, has already been prosecuted for tax deception. The 30-year-old transferred over 260 million kroner to several other companies’ accounts over a three-month period, including Xpress Solutions.

Ongoing

The “cash for climate” scandal started in December last year, when Europol warned Europe was experiencing a 42 billion kroner tax swindle over a period of a year-and- a-half.

In February 2010, both GCT and Xpress Solutions were prosecuted for tax fraud for what Skatt Øst claims to be 127 million kroner.

Three people have been imprisoned so far, a total of five have been indicted, and one is on the run from police.

According to Oslo City Court’s ruling, the man has admitted doing business with this company on credit during police questioning,

“It is the court’s view it’s probable that both the climate quotas and the money are criminal profits which been laundered via the indicted,” they write.

Several other companies have also been prosecuted.