This afternoon a message emerged that Økokrim will announce on Thursday or Friday whether an investigation will be opened against Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap).

However, on the day the case was revealed, August 30, Økokrim stated the following:

“(…) So far, there is no information that provides Økokrim with a basis for assessing questions regarding insider trading.»

Earlier in the day, Ecocrime chief Pål Kulø Lønseth had declared himself incompetent.

– A bit fast in corners

Lawyer Erling Grimstad, who previously served as head and deputy head of Økokrim, reacted to the procedure carried out by his former employer.

– “What surprised me was that they took the decision so quickly that they should not start an investigation into the case,” Grimstad told NRK.

He emphasized that such demanding processes usually take longer, and explained that it often takes several weeks before the assessment is completed.

– I In this case, I think some people might consider this a rush job. It goes a little fast around the corner.

– The Attorney General should consider this case

Grimstad also highlighted the coincidence between the same day the case came to light, Ecocrime said there were no internal discussions about the case and the fact that the head of Ecocrime declared himself incompetent.

– Nif the head of Økokrim declares himself incompetent and the decision not to start an investigation is taken anyway, the process will look a bit messy and could give the unfortunate impression that there may be other reasons why the decision was taken, he says.

In the past week, NRK has asked the Prosecutor General why they do not believe that the entire Økokrim is incompetent in this case, when the top leader Pål Kulø Lønseth is an incompetent person. The reason Lønseth declared himself incompetent was because the former Labor leader had worked closely with Huitfeldt on several cases, most recently in 2018.

On Wednesday, the Attorney General responded that although Lønseth had declared himself incompetent, that did not mean his deputy chief was incompetent. It is now the assistant head of Økokrim Inger Svae-Grotli who will handle the possible investigation into the Huitfeldt case.

Grimstad believes this is an unusual treatment.

– It is not unusual for an assistant manager to make an assessment when the manager is incompetent. Then the decision was raised one level. That’s what the Attorney General said in this case here. That’s the usual.

Trust in the police

Last week, it was discovered that the husband of Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap) bought shares in, among other things, Kongsberg Gruppen and a salmon company during his time as minister.

Huitfeldt herself came out and apologized because she had not known about her husband’s stock trading while he was minister.

Grimstad believes that the handling of this case by both the Attorney General and Økokrim could undermine trust in prosecutors.

– This can lead to distrust of the police and is very unfortunate, especially when it concerns important people in our society who have a high level of trust. So it’s very important that you have a good, thorough and orderly process before you make a decision like this whether or not to start an investigation, Grimstad told NRK.