Seven former bankers receive sentences in Iceland

Former bosses of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing were convicted today for market manipulation in the months leading up to the bank's collapse in the Reykjavik district court. Kaupthing itself was the largest buyer of its own shares on the open market according to the charge. During the time period in question, from November 2007 until October 2008 the purchases of the bank amounted to over 42% of the total turnover of shares in Kaupthing in the Icelandic Stock Exchange.

Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, the former chief executive, and Sigurdur Einarsson, former chairman of the board, were among those convicted but they are already doing time after receiving heavy sentences in the Al-Thani case this past February. Sigurdsson's sentence will however not be increased while one year was added to Einarsson's sentence in the Al-Thani case. He was sentenced to four years in the Al-Thani case so his sentence for both cases is in total five years.

See also:Iceland jails former Kaupthing bosses

Ingolfur Helgason, the former chief executive of Kaupthing in Iceland, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Bjarki Diego, managing director of the bank‘s loan division, received two and a half years. Magnus Gudmundsson, the former chief executive of the Luxembourg branch, who received a 4,5 year sentence this February, was found not guilty.

Einar Palmi Sigmundsson, head of proprietary trading, received a two year suspended sentence. Petur Kristinn Gudmarsson and Birnir Saer Bjornsson, brokers working for the bank’s proprietary trading, received an 18 month suspended sentence.

Björk Þórarinsdóttir, a former member of the loan committee of Kaupthing, was found not guilty.