Trond G Kristoffersen, co-founder and former chief executive of scandal-ridden Finance Credit, was sentenced to nine years in prison on Tuesday. It's the stiffest prison term for white-collar crime ever handed down in Norway.
Kristoffersen, age 48, was also ordered to pay a whopping NOK 1.2 billion (about US$171 million) in compensation to the Norwegian banks he was convicted of swindling. It remains questionable, however, whether the banks will ever recover any of the money they lost on their loans to Finance Credit.
Kristoffersen appealed the ruling shortly after it was handed down, telling TV2 Nettavisen that he didn't think he had an adequate defence in the case. He also said he was upset that his prison term equalled those handed out to some convicted murderers in Norway.
