The Supreme Court rejects appeal from builder

construction industry builderConstruction industry. Photo: Norway Today Media

The Supreme Court rejects appeal – builder must atone in prison

The verdict against a big-wig builder, of six and a half years imprisonment, is enforceable after the Norwegian Supreme Court rejected the appeal by the man. The businessman is of Finnish origin.

 

He is also sentenced to pay a fine of NOK 11.3 million, writes the trade union organ Fri Fagbevegelse.

In May of this year, the 54-years-old Finn was sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment for tax evasion and Social Security fraud by the Eidsivating Court of Appeals. His most frequent modus operandi has been fictitious invoicing. With the use of many fictional subcontractors, he obtained untaxed income that was used to pay Eastern European workers less than the minimum wage.

Among his major building projects is the Inner Ring Road around Oslo and also the so-called Opera tunnel.

The man appealed against the application of the law, the processing of the case and the length of incarnation. The Supreme Court agrees with the Court of Appeals injunctions and rejects the appeal.

Forced his co-workers

According to the Fri Fagbevegelse, the 54-years-old has been a known profile in the construction business in Oslo since the early nineties.

When the tax authorities conducted a review of his books in 2012, he forced his co-workers to sign fake invoices so that it would be possible for him to construct a fake ledger. According to the verdict, he used a weapon to force them to sign the fictitious invoices.

The threats prompted the assistants to approach the police. Against this background, he is now sentenced to six and a half years in prison, which is one of Norway’s most severe penalties for fictitious invoicing to date.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today