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Updated 8.38pm
ICELAND’S PRIME MINISTER resigned today, becoming the first political victim of a mushrooming worldwide scandal over hidden offshore financial dealings exposed in the so-called Panama Papers.
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson is the biggest casualty so far of a worldwide media probe into 11.5 million leaked documents that purportedly reveal the offshore financial activities of 140 political figures, including 12 current or former heads of state.
“The prime minister told [his party's] parliamentary group meeting that he would step down as prime minister and I will take over,” the Progressive Party’s deputy leader Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson told a live broadcast.
A series of other leaders and stars named in the leaked papers have hit back at the allegations, denying any wrongdoing despite the international furore.
Those named include Russian President Vladimir Putin’s associates, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s relatives, British Prime Minister David Cameron’s late father and celebrities such as Argentine footballing great Lionel Messi.
Iceland’s leader had been under immense pressure after the papers, leaked from a Panamanian law firm, appeared to show that he and his wife Anna Sigurlaug Palsdottir owned an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands and placed millions of dollars there.
Though the prime minister denied ever hiding money abroad, pressure on his government had mounted, with egg-throwing protesters gathering in the streets today and fresh demonstrations planned for tomorrow.
Earlier the president refused him permission to dissolve the country’s parliament.
President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who cut short a visit to the US to return to Reykjavik earlier to deal with the crisis, told a televised press conference he wanted to consult the government’s junior coalition member before making a decision.
Huge protest
Huge crowds poured into the square outside parliament in Reykjavik last night calling for the prime minister to step down over financial records showing that he and his wife bought a company in the British Virgin Islands in 2007.
He sold his 50% share to his wife for a symbolic sum of $1 at the end of 2009.
But when he was elected to parliament for the first time in April 2009, as a member of the centre-right Progressive Party, he neglected to mention his stake in his declaration of shareholdings.
Bankers
As the crowds gathered outside parliament, he told public broadcaster RUV he regretted not revealing this sooner.
The issue is particularly sensitive in Iceland, a country marked by the excesses of the 2000s when senior bankers used shell companies in tax havens to conceal their dealings in risky financial products.
Police said the crowds that turned out in Reykjavik last night outnumbered the thousands who in 2009 brought down the right-wing government over its responsibility in Iceland’s 2008 banking collapse.
Iceland’s big banks collapsed in October 2008 after borrowing beyond their means to fund ambitious investments abroad. Before their collapse, their liabilities were worth more than ten times Iceland’s total GDP.
The crash led to an unprecedented financial crisis, a deep recession and a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Tax havens
Gunnlaugsson, a former journalist, insists that despite the financial turbulence he was never tempted to move his money offshore and that his wife paid all her taxes in Iceland.
“She has neither utilised tax havens nor can you say that her company is an offshore company,” Gunnlaugsson said on his website.
In an interview with Swedish public television SVT recorded last month, excerpts of which were aired in Iceland on Sunday, he became visibly upset after being repeatedly asked about his wife’s company, eventually storming out of the room.
“It’s like you are accusing me of something,” he declared.
‘Lack of faith’ in Iceland
Elected prime minister in 2013, 41-year-old Gunnlaugsson was seen as a refreshing change from the political old guard, which was accused of having turned a blind eye to the banks’ reckless investments.
His wife, also 41, is the daughter of a businessman who made a fortune from having Iceland’s only Toyota dealership.
On 15 March, before details of the Panama Papers appeared in international media, she took to Facebook to acknowledge the existence of Wintris, the company that she and Gunnlaugsson acquired in 2007 to manage her inheritance from her father.
She said that with the help of international consultancy KPMG she had made sure to pay all her taxes in Iceland.
“The prime minister should immediately resign,” former Social Democratic prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said in a message posted on Facebook earlier.
Gunnlaugsson had “displayed his lack of faith in the Icelandic currency and economy by placing his money in a tax haven”, she wrote.
‘I won’t quit’
Gunnlaugsson insisted yesterday he would not resign.
“I have not considered quitting because of this matter, nor am I going to quit because of this matter,” he told Channel 2 television.
A source of particular embarrassment for Gunnlaugsson, who led a public revolt against the drastic repayment conditions initially imposed by countries whose citizens lost money in the banking collapse, is the fact that Wintris is listed among the banks’ creditors, with millions of dollars in claims.
“It is sad that those who … say they will lead by example [and] say that the big plan is to believe in Iceland then decide that their money is better kept elsewhere,” prominent Icelandic historian and intellectual Gudni Johannesson told RUV.
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Rest in peace a wonderful woman and an amazing sister to JoJo
Someone knows something about this case , murderers talk , whether you are a friend or partner , someone will have spoken about it .
If you think you are protecting someone , you’re not .
You only perpetuate grief .
@Nek nedyah:
I don’t think you have to look much further than Larry Murphy. Just don’t have the evidence to prosecute.
@Nick Allen: I agree with you 100%
@Nick Allen: I don’t know much about this story , I’ll look into it .
But there seems to be a consensus that “someone” is responsible .
@Nek nedyah:
He is a convicted rapist and was proven to be in the area at the time. Have a google about him, also Rte had a program on him and his link to the 3 girls that went missing in the area which gave a very convincing argument.
@Nick Allen: It is more than being a convicted rapist, it was the manner of it. He abducted a woman, brought her to a forest, raped her and attempted to murder her. Local hunters or farmers inturrupted by chance and he ran. Went home, had sex with his wife as if nothing happened and waited for the Gards as he had been recognised.
@Paul P O’Sullivan:
Absolutely, it’s a surprise he was not convicted. He got out of jail about 3 years ago and was followed by the Gardai our to Malahide where he went for a walk on the beach and i believe he went to Amsterdam after that
@Nick Allen: yeh agreed…. Its all to coincidental….
@Nick Allen: I remember watching a documentary on Tv called “Ireland’s missing women”. They said on it the years that Larry Murphy was in prison any woman that went missing was found alive. It’s was the years before he was caught that women went missing and never found.
@Nick Allen: They know but he covered his tracks too well the odds are shes in Dublin mountains buried where he was caught killing his Carlow victim.Moone was right on his stomping ground in the 90,s
May she finally be at Rest now such a brave woman.
RIP.
A real pity she didn’t find the truth before she passed away herself.She lived her life looking for it.R.I.P
Well done. Sleep well.
Please god Jo Jo’s memory will not be forgotten and that the cold case team will find the person or persons who done this. Surely someone out there knows something no matter how small. May Mary rest in peace. Sad.
The family believed that the killer was protected due to strong political connections. Similar to the Mary Boyle case in Donegal where they are almost certain they know who the killer is.
@Jimmy Ryan Rises: This is the problem in Ireland , it’s not religion , it’s the bully culture .
Perhaps we need another civil war .
@Nek nedyah: A woman has died and you feel it is appropriate to use her sad story to advocate for a “civil war”. I am rarely shocked by the dangerous stupidity and hate filled bile on display on this site but you sir take the proverbial biscuit.
@Larry Doyle: Maybe it would suit you better to look into who knew what about this case…
Anyway, RIP the poor woman, her life must have been hell.
@Jimmy Ryan Rises: yes and the same as Bernadette Connolly in Sligo whose anniversary was this week, while her body was found in 1970….. The Guards were told to drop persuing the case as the chief suspect was a member of the local religious community….. Sadly all the witnesses and their suspects are now dead, but no closure to the family.
Poor lady,very sad,rest in peace
So so sad. How can the person responsible sleep at night???
Who knows where anyone goes when they pass away, can only hope she’s reunited with her sister and justice will be done some day. RIP
RIP. She knows now what happened and hopefully the two of them are together.
So sorry to hear this news, may she rest in peace.
Very sad that she never got closure after so many many years of searching for the truth. RIP
Hope she’s finally reunited with her sister. RIP
@Bobby Byrne: how could she be reunited with Jo Jo?
@Bobby Byrne: I hope they are
RIP to a remarkable woman, very sad that she never got closure for her sisters disappearance.
Very sad news.
I Hope the Angel’s or whoever is out there give you rest Mary…. I’d say the stress and worry of Jo Jo been missing all these years finally killed her…
May she rest in peace. And perhaps get the answers she sought for so long.
A fantastic woman who never stopped searching for answers. One of the bravest women of our time to carry that suffering. May she rest in peace.
I hope she’s with her in hevan
The poor woman. Never found answers but dedicated her whole life to doing so.
May she rest in peace.
Rest In Peace Mary Phelan . You did your best . JoJo would be very proud of what you did for her . God Bless .
Is it not Dollard?
@Sandra Creevey: no, it’s Dullard.
@Sandra Creevey: Is it not Creevy?
Its amazing that since mr murphys release, no one has picked him up for a “chat” in a secluded area so as to gain some clarity on his movements at that time. A method used frequently in the north by a certain group back in the day.
This poor soul died after giving 20 years of her life trying to find her sister. She never gave up hope. She is a true inspiration of self sacrific,her life shatterered to pieces after jo jos disappearance. I’m not overly religious but I hope to god she finds the peace she so rightly deserves after so long campaigning and finds her beloved jo jo
Poor soul after giving 20 years of her live looking for her beloved jo jo.hope she finds the peace she so rightly deserves
Yes so so sad for Mary. RIP
We know who you are there in moone. May you NEVER Rest In Peace.
This poor soul died after giving 20 years of her life tirelessly campaging for her beloveved sisters disappearance.she is a True inspiration for everyone. I hope to god she finds the peace she so rightly deserves and finds her jo jo
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