Recently, the was a huge leak in documents from the internationally operating law firm Mossack Fonesca. Like any major leak of documents, the Panama Papers have been embarrising for individuals ranging from Vladimir Putin, to the current Prime Minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. Mr. Gunnlaugsson is in a small bit of hot water because of his actions during the recent debt crisis in Iceland.
As we all know, not all politicians act as ethically as they say they do. In fact many are just thinly disguised crooks who, have managed to build up a veil of righteousness. It is quite sad to see what happens when one of them gets caught in the act of doing something illegal, or at the very least highly immoral. One great example is Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. During the financial crisis that took place in 2008, it appears that Mr. Gunnlaugsson was the proud co-owner of a company, Wintris, which was registered in the British Virgin Islands in 2007. The British Virgin Islands is one of the last remaining tax havens due to its really low rate on corporate taxes. Moving forward though, it appears that Wintris owned debt in some of Iceland’s failed banks. This puts Prime Minister Gunnlaugsson in a really tough, and awkward position, while the government which he is now head of was seeking to right the market, Gunnlaugsson owned assets in the very banks that were creating havoc and mayhem in Icelands market. Eventually Gunnlaugsson gave his portion of the company to his wife, Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir for the great price of 1 United States Dollar.
In ending, it seems like the crisis in Iceland is just getting started. It is going to be really interesting to see where this ends. There are many people calling for Prime Minister Gunnlaugsson’s resignation.
