Kaupthing – nothing yet
No further news on the two ex-Kaupthing managers now in custody in Iceland. Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson and Magnus Gudmundsson appealed the custody to the High Court. Its ruling was expected today but nothing happened.
In Iceland there are wild speculations as to how the three High Court judges will rule on the custody. It’s very likely that there will be other demands for custody in similar cases so this ruling will set an important example.
Exactly why the Office of the Special Prosecutor wanted custody over the two mangers isn’t clear so what it is that the High Court has to take into consideration isn’t known either.
Most High Court judges have been appointed by ministers from the Independence Party. In the highly politicised atmosphere in Iceland the influence of this is a hotly debated topic. Two of the three judges who will rule on the custody are known to be closely connected to the Independence Party and its former leader David Oddsson. Oddson resigned as a leader in 2005, became governor of the Icelandic Central Bank and then an editor of Morgunbladid when he was forced to resign from the Central Bank last year due to his part on the collapse of the Icelandic banks in October 2008.
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