Ølen Betong sues Norway after alleged spy recruiting
Ølen Betong sues the Norwegian state after employees in Russia allegedly has been attempted to be recruited as spies. The Rogaland based concrete company believes that it has lost NOK 150 million in revenues in Murmansk.
Ølen Betong sues Norway after alleged spy recruiting
Ølen Betong sues the Norwegian state after employees in Russia allegedly has been attempted to be recruited as spies. The Rogaland based concrete company believes that it has lost NOK 150 million in revenues.
According to NRK, Ølen Betong’s lawyer gave the Government Attorney a deadline of noon on Friday to answer the claim.
“We received a response from the Government Attorney. It states that the state does not accept liability. We, therefore, have no other choice than to file a lawsuit,” Lawyer for the company, Per M. Ristvedt states.
Government Attorney, Fredrik Sejersted, points to the aforementioned letter to NTB. It states, among other things, «That the CEO of Ølen Betong has brought the matter before the Norwegian Parliament’s control committee for Intelligence, Surveillance and Security Services (EOS).»
Parallel track
«As far as the Norwegian state can understand, they have thus chosen a parallel track by both issuing a complaint to the EOS committee and simultaneously warning that a lawsuit is filed with the courts. According to the Norwegian state’s point of view, this appears not to be very appropriate. A more natural process will be to await the EOS Committee’s assessment, which, regardless of the outcome, will make it easier to proceed with the matter correctly,» Seiersted writes.
«If the committee concludes that there is no reason for criticism, it is the state’s hope that Ølen Betong Group (ØBG) and the affected actors are satisfied by that. Should the committee, however, come to the conclusion that there are reasons for such, the ministries concerned will have to consider the matter further, in light of that, the letter,» which NTB has gained access to, continues.
Sejersted, therefore, requests that the issue of litigation be suspended until the outcome of the EOS committee’s investigation is clear.
Apprehended by Russian intelligence
Norwegian intelligence has for several years been trying to recruit Norwegian employees at the factory of Ølen Betong in Murmansk, NRK informs. Two of the company’s employees have, in recent years, been arrested by Russian intelligence and expelled from the country.
“They tried to enlist or contact us at around ten different occasions,” CEO of Ølen Betong, Atle Berge, asserts.
He must now run the Murmansk operation from Norway because he is banned from entering Russia for ten years. An employee of the same company allegedly has been approached several times by what apparently are agents working for the Norwegian Special Branch (PST) and pressured to provide information.
The employee was eventually arrested by Russian intelligence in Murmansk. He claims to have been threatened with a gun while, at the same time, being offered to become a double agent. The man is also declared as persona non grata in Russia for a period of ten years.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
