REYKJAVIK, Iceland (PNN) - July 12, 2012 - If you were involved in Icelandic high finance in the run up to the Depression, you might want to start watching your back.
That's because the Iceland government has appointed a white collar crime bounty hunter who wants to haul in your behind (alive, to be sure).
LeMonde reporter Charlotte Chabras has a profile of Ólafur Þór Hauksson, former local police lieutenant whom the Iceland government appointed to track down individuals likely to have helped sink the country's banking sector during the credit crunch.
Hauksson's job description, according to PressEurop’s translation of the piece:
"On one hand, we have to investigate all suspicion of fraud and offenses committed before 2009; on the other hand, we bring lawsuits against the suspects to court ourselves," Hauksson explains. “This is a totally new method that allows investigators to follow the case and the judicial system to know the cases like the back of their hands. This is indispensable in order to compete with the well-prepared defense attorneys."
Hauksson oversees a posse of 100 researchers to help track down outlaws. He's netted some major convictions since starting in 2009, including the former chief of staff of the country's finance minister on insider trading charges. Many others await their day in court.
