Baugur Group

More tales of highway robbery, courtesy of the usual suspects

June 10, 2010

Just when you think you’ve heard everything, along something new to scandalize. It has now been revealed that the previous owners of Apple in Iceland — Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson and friends under the Baugur Group umbrella — cleaned out the “repair fund” of the company before it went bust in late 2008. By “repair fund” [...]

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Politics and business in the lead-up to the collapse: more sordid revelations

June 7, 2010

One of the recurring annoyances for Icelandic politicians over the last few weeks has been the relentless demand by the public that they reveal who their main supporters were in their election campaigns in recent years. After all, the economic meltdown seems to have been at least partly caused by the unholy alliance of politics [...]

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Get your penis-shaped shopping mall here!

April 28, 2010

As I wrote back in February, Penis Mall is being put up for sale — and the bidding starts today! Baggalútur featured it prominently on their Official News Page. The State Real Estate Agency has sent out the following press release: For private sale, beautiful two-story detached home, centrally located in Kópavogur. The property is [...]

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Frozen!!

April 21, 2010

Finally, FINALLY, a freezing order has been imposed on the assets of two of Iceland’s [former] moguls – Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson and Hannes Smárason. There has been much talk lately about the evident mismanagement of funds in FL Group, of which Hannes Smárason was CEO and which was a subsidiary of Baugur Group. The issue [...]

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Of oligarchs, the media, and the truth

April 11, 2010

So old Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson continues to stun and amaze. A few days ago he announced he would be suing the Glitnir winding-up committee for libel because they suggested he had abused his position as the owner of the bank. Now he’s sending messages to the Minister of Finance, via the press, that Steingrímur should  [...]

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Penis Mall is up for grabs!

February 20, 2010

Um, metaphorically speaking. Ladies and Gents: Penis Mall, one of Niceland’s most famous landmarks, not to mention the one with the Greatest Hits Ever on the IWR, will be listed for sale in the coming weeks. Smáralind, aka Penis Mall, was once owned by Baugur Group, right around the time they started on their inflated [...]

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Arion Bank’s bizarre acrobatics

February 10, 2010

God, there are so many corruption scandals emerging these days that my head is spinning. I’d love to inform the World at Large [that's you] about them but honestly, I wouldn’t know where to start. Except maybe with Kaupthing Arion Bank’s bizarre and completely outrageous settlements with this country’s former tycoons. First, Hagar. Hagar is [...]

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Doddsson hauls out the ammunition

January 29, 2010

So, old Davíð Oddsson – key player in Iceland’s economic collapse, Prime Minister for 13 years, Central Bank director preceding the meltdown, currently editor-in-chief of Morgunblaðið – appears to be preparing the groundwork for his defense in anticipation of the Black Report. As I’ve stated repeatedly, I no longer read Morgunblaðið [well, except when it's [...]

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The billion króna shuffle

January 28, 2010

Last night, RÚV reported that Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson [tycoon associated with Baugur Group, which once owned half the UK high street and more] had received a “gift or loan” amounting to ISK 1 billion from his pal Pálmi Haraldsson. The funds came through Pálmi’s company Fons and were funneled through Fons’s accounts no fewer than [...]

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Disgraced moguls and frantic damage control

January 18, 2010

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about how a certain video showing footage from the so-called “Baugur Day” – a mutha of a staff party held by one of Iceland’s disgraced companies – disappeared after it began creating a buzz on blogs and websites here in Iceland. Now a similar situation has [...]

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