[ad_1]
Økokrim has prosecuted the two former entrepreneurs, the owners and members of the board of Nordic Securities for gross fraud and serious and repeated violations of good business practices.
Økokrim believes that the two founders did not disclose the risk when they got several of their own clients, who were so-called non-professional investors, to buy shares in the company that owned the brokerage firm, that is, parent company The Nordic. Group as. They also did not share other “essential information,” according to the indictment.
– I do not understand
– Our clients do not understand the accusation and do not recognize themselves in the accusation. They do not admit criminal guilt, says attorney Tony Vangen of the Elden law firm, which represents Erik Egenæs and the brokerage house itself.
He notes that they have cooperated at all times and believes that the prosecution is “strongly influenced” by the work of Finanstilsynet.
– These conditions are very old, five years, and it has been a great drag for our clients personally and commercially. This is because these accusations have changed regularly over time. Our clients are happy the case is coming to an end, says Vangen.
Tangenes defender Rasmus Woxholt agrees with Vangen’s answer.
Egenæs is very disappointed and surprised by the accusation, says Egenæs’ other defender, Håkon Juell Hassel.
– I am very critical of the process that has been carried out where the investors who have been considered offended, among other things, have not been asked questions that are necessary to clarify the accusation. Also, in the cross-examination, in my view, there was information about the investments that did not match or how important questions regarding investor liability were omitted.
Two former brokers of the brokerage house are also accused of serious violations of good business practices.
– It is not recognized in what is described in the part of the accusation that corresponds to it. Our clear opinion is that there is no evidentiary basis for such an accusation. Therefore, we strongly disagree with the prosecution, says attorney Rune H. Tjomsland, who represents one of the brokers.
Fredrik Verling defends the other runner, but has not responded to DN’s inquiries.
Loaded with an investor loss of DKK 47 million.
The two founders are accused of having caused a total of 39 smaller investors to buy shares and incur a loss of almost NOK 47 million in the Nordic countries. According to Økokrim, this should have happened without them having said how risky the investment was and without presenting the profit opportunity as “significantly greater than it actually was”. According to Økokrim, they also did not report well enough on the company’s future prospects and results.
According to the indictment, the biggest losers are three people who each lost around six million crowns in what Økokrim believes to be a serious fraud.
DN has previously written that the Nordic parent company in June 2016 had a total of 202 owners, including 168 clients of the brokerage. Clients had bought the shares through sales and capital increases by the founders and the company itself. In total, clients paid an estimated NOK 202 million for a 40 percent stake. The sale of shares was a “serious breach of customer trust,” according to the audit.
– it has been stressful
Neither Erik Egenæs nor Endre Tangenes responded to DN’s questions on Thursday. Egenæs posed for an interview with DN in the winter of 2017. He later rejected the allegations of illegal sale of shares.
– The Authority believes that the parent company shares have been traded by employees of Nordic Securities, or that the brokerage house has provided investment advice to invest in the company. That is completely wrong, Egenæs said.
He noted that the brokerage house had developed rules of conduct, which established, among other things, that brokers could give leads to the main owners about potential investors. Clients can also contact entrepreneurs directly. Then the main owners themselves must have presented a possible investment.
– About 30 percent of those who bought shares were clients before they became co-owners. Many of the owners have subsequently become clients, Egenæs said.
– So, no broker has been in contact with clients and recommended that they buy shares in the parent company?
– Then I would be very surprised. Of course, it may have been a compliance violation that we are not aware of. But very few, if any, of shareholders will say they have received specific investment advice on the matter, he said.
The Finanstilsynet report indicated that Egenæs and Tangenes should have earned NOK 57 million from buying and selling shares in 2015 and 2016.
– This case has been stressful. After building a brokerage house on our own, we are portrayed as greedy. It’s incomprehensible, he said then.
It was reviewed by Finanstilsynet
“Investment fraud is a growing social problem that is important to combat,” Chief Prosecutor Trude Stanghelle said in a press release Thursday.
Ecocrime investigated the case following a report by Finanstilsynet
– The accusation arises as the result of a very extensive and demanding investigation with many victims, says Stanghelle.
Ecocrime will bring many witnesses and present extensive evidence, according to the press release, and the criminal case in district court is expected to drag on for several months. (Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content can only be done with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms, see here.
