The assets of businessmen Jon Asgeir Johannesson and Hannes Smarason in Iceland will be frozen in connection with tax authority investigations into them and the businesses they used to run.
According to Vidskiptabladid sources, the frozen assets amount to many hundreds of millions of kronur (ISK 100 million = USD 780,000).
The paper’s sources claim that the assets of other so-called Outvasion Viking businessmen will be frozen by tax investigators in the near future. Sources say this information fits well with cloaked words from Minister of Finance Steingrimur J. Sigfusson on Friday.
Sigfusson was asked if he intended to do anything to prevent the architects of the economic crash simply taking over their old companies once more. He replied that tax authorities were involved in an extensive investigation concerning many of these same people and that it was not unlikely that tax issues would be the starting point for criminal proceedings and even the freezing of assets.
Why is this anounced before it is done? why telling up-front that they “might” frezee assets? I don’t get it…
>” He replied that tax authorities were involved in an extensive investigation concerning many of these same people and that it was not unlikely that tax issues would be the starting point for criminal proceedings and even the freezing of assets. ”
As old saying from US judge, the power to tax is the power to destroy.
But if prosecutor evidence can convince judge to convict, and take compensation for those wronged by Hannes and others, good.+
Hannes Smárason is poster boy for all that was done wrong during the ” free money ” era 2001 – 2008. Free as in ridiculous low interest rates in major countries US, UK, Japan etc. so that money pushed out any where to earn return regardless of risks.
+http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/09/07/joseph-stiglitz-in-iceland-talking-economy/#comment-92833
Whatever you do please make sure you will not be the clown among your friends and insult the majority of Icelandic citizens who will be paying the account with automatic tax deduction. Surely, the criminal case will not only be tax evasion ?
Transparency is good but freezing first with out filling the criminal case is fishy. The problem is when the case is filled all the money has been transferred or withdrawn. Therefore this is a case of no case at all. Insufficiency of evidence. Case closed.
” Case closed.”
Indeed.
also interesting that now that the tax is looking into tax evasion then they talk of freezing assets, SMOS
I am still trying to understand. How can you freeze an asset without a legal case ? Is this possible ? Will this be only a tax case ? Or is this a warning to those concern so that they can withdraw the “ill gotten wealth” before the probable taxman comes ? Is this another kind of collusion ? What can you say ? HELP or is this SOP ?
“Or is this a warning to those concern so that they can withdraw the “ill gotten wealth” before the probable taxman comes ?”
All the money those people stole from the banks, our pension funds and insurance emergency funds is long gone, it has been hidden abroad in tax havens and places who are criminal friendly, like Britain, Cayman, Tortola, Luxembourg, etc.
Jon Asgeir’s key propaganda media was almost bankrupt recently, but was saved when Jon Asgeir pulled 2 bn out of his a** whitout any explanation and threw it into that hopeless pit, just to keep it alive a bit longer, i wonder where that came from.
Jon Asgeir and Bjorgolfur Thor have been appolgizing lately for the destruction of Icelandic society, they have left a trail of toxic debt behind them where ever they have gone resulting in themseves becoming toxic persons who no one wants to be connected to,
thats why they are appologizing and trying to create the illusion that they regret what they have done,
i find this laugheble, when Jon Asgeir was asked about Tortola in 2008 he had never heard about the place, he has been lying ever since.