Two people charged with embezzling NOK 49 million from Gartnerhallen

Fruit

The Economic Crime Division (Økokrim) has charged two people with spending NOK 49 million from Gartnerhallen over the past ten years.

 

According to the crime report, investigations have been ongoing from May 2007 to May 2017, according to NRK news. One of the accused is the accountant at Gartnerhallen, while the other is a farmer who has been a supplier there.

‘It is the accountant who has managed to pocket this amount through manipulation of the accounts,’ said Økokrim’s, Geir Kavlie, of the Norwegian National Agency to NRK news.

In total, it is underserved that 49,005,112 kroner have been taken, of which approximately 3 million have gone to an employee, and over NOK 45 million went to the supplier and his creditors.

According to the accusation, the employee transferred the money to the supplier after
‘persuasion and/or pressure’, and Kavlie said the details will be presented in court.
Gartnerhallen was established in 1930, and is a Norwegian producer organisation for fruit, berries, and vegetables. It’s owned by approximately 1,150 gardeners and potato growers.

Gartnerhallen began its own investigations when, earlier this year, an employee reported that unlawful transfers of large amounts of money from the cooperative organisation could have occurred for a number of years.

The case will go to court in February.

 

©  NTB Scanpix / Norway Today