A branch of
Iceland's Glitnir Bank is seen in Reykjavik October 8, 2008.
(Credit:
Reuters/Bob Strong)
|
(Reuters) -
Iceland's special prosecutor arrested the former chief executive of Glitnir
Bank on Wednesday and questioned nearly two dozen people related to the
collapse of the bank in 2008.
Glitnir Bank
was the first of Iceland's top three commercial banks to collapse three years
ago, imploding under the weight of huge debts racked up during years of
aggressive expansion.
Special
prosecutor Olafur Hauksson said his office had made several arrests on Wednesday
-- the first for activities related to Glitnir. He told local media that former
CEO Larus Welding would be held in custody for up to one week.
"Welding
is being held in the interest of the investigation in order to prevent him for
influencing other suspects or removing evidence that we're after," he was
quoted as saying by Morgunbladid.
Hauksson
said he had initiated nine new investigations, made several arrests and
questioned nearly two dozen people related to the fall of Glitnir.
Inquiries
are being made into the purchase of Glitnir's shares, as well as into loans
provided to a number of firms to purchase Glitnir shares. It also investigated
a 15 billion Icelandic crown ($126 million) guarantee provided by Glitnir in
connection with a share offering in FL Group.
The
prosecutor has also been conducting investigations at Kaupthing and Landsbanki.
Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir all collapsed in the space of a week during
the 2008 crisis.
(Reporting by Omar Valdimarsson)
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