No police investigation for husband of Norway's ex-prime minister over stock trades
The husband of former Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg will not face investigation over his stock trading during her two terms in office, Norway's economic crimes agency announced Friday, saying it had found no indications that he had benefited from inside information.
Solberg, who was prime minister from 2013 to 2021, has faced intense political and media pressure because of the trading of her husband, Sindre Finnes, who made more than 3,600 share deals.
Pal K. Lonseth, head of the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, said his agency's task had been to assess whether Finnes received inside information from “either from Solberg or other sources, and whether there is evidence that he has used such information in his investments.”
“We have found no indications of that,” said Lonseth, whose agency is known as Oekokrim in Norwegian.
Solberg, who has led Norway’s center-right party Hoeyre since 2004, has repeatedly said she wants to be the conservative prime ministerial candidate in the 2025 general election. However, it was up to the party to decide, she said.
In September, it was revealed that the husbands of Solberg and former Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt had traded stocks for years behind their wives' backs. Both had to explain why they were making decisions in office that could potentially enrich their spouses.
In a statement issued through his lawyer, Finnes admitted he lied to Solberg about his trades but he said he never acted on inside information, which would have been a criminal offense.
On Friday, his lawyer, Thomas Skjelbred, said Oekokrim's ruling made it clear that his client “has conducted completely legal trading in shares.”
As part of a government reshuffle last month, Huitfeldt...