– They tricked us into filming – VG

– They tricked us into filming.

Here’s what attorney Bjørn Haugen says after it emerged on Thursday that Økokrim has brought a very thorough defendant against former attorney Halstein Sigbjørn Sjølie.

Haugen has been by Sjølie’s side for 23 years, while they have both worked at Advokathuset Liljedahl in Jeløya in Moss.

“We had an agreement on a high moral standard and you had the impression that he had it,” says Haugen.

Then everything changed in the fall of 2019. At that time, Sjølie was placed under the management of the Supervisory Board for the legal profession, at the same time that Finanstilsynet decided that his real estate business should be liquidated. The police also launched an investigation. Then colleagues really began to understand what had happened in secret, Haugen says.

– Investigate the investment of colleagues

After a long investigation, Økokrim has come to the conclusion that Sjølie is over seven years old. it has embezzled approximately NOK 100 million and defrauded almost NOK 33 million.

– It is a serious accusation in the sense that there are significant amounts in question here, but also because the trust that comes with the position of lawyer has been broken, says State Attorney Geir Kavlie to VG.

Between 2012 and 2019, Sjølie spent NOK 92 million from a customer’s so-called account, according to the indictment. This was money that belonged to 25 different clients.

– He pleaded guilty to the most important circumstance of the prosecution. He has had a cash flow problem, and he solved it in an unwise way, says Sjølie’s defender Vegard Aaløkken.

Sjølie is also said to have embezzled a total of 2 million crowns that he had received from two colleagues, according to the indictment. In 2017, colleagues transferred money to Sjølie in connection with the establishment of a real estate company. They never saw this money again, says lawyer Bjørn Haugen. According to the indictment, Sjølie used the money for his own purposes.

– It seemed like a favorable project, and I myself was involved in this for a while, and we had a letter of intent that I should participate as well. But I didn’t have a million in cash, so I had to borrow the money. I asked Sjølie to give me some documentation, but did not get it. The other two, on the other hand, trusted him, says Haugen, who also tells how Sjølie should have used his colleagues’ money for his own purposes.

– You can say that I was lucky not to have the money. Clients who have been the object of embezzlement have received it from the insurance. His two colleagues don’t, Haugen says.

Social support and income freeze

Moss Dagblad writes that Sjølie is known locally as a former politician, lawyer, and real estate investor. Before being watched and the center of police attention, he bought several hotels, including Morgedal Hotell and Haukeli Hotell in Telemark.

He has also been seen as a community supporter in Moss, writes the local newspaper. From 1993 to 1997, he was deputy representative at the Storting for KrF. He also had big plans for the construction of 70 houses in Kleberget.

In fiscal year 2017, he ranked fifth most in Moss, based on tax rolls, writes the local newspaper.

Former lawyer colleague Bjørn Haugen explains that the law firm also suffered a loss after the case against Sjølie was closed. They have had to sell the office building and another adjacent building, he says.

– We had to sell at an undesirable time because we became too few employees to share the costs, says Haugen.

– We have been good companions, this also happens. We do not know what the motivation may have been. We’ve heard a few songs half-baked, but it’s hard to tell, says Haugen.

Attorney Aaløkken does not want to comment on Attorney Haugen’s interview.