„No, I had no idea,“ Bjarni Benediktsson, Iceland’s Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs said when asked whether he had been aware of his father purchasing a share in the bank Íslandsbanki.
On Wednesday it was revealed which companies, individuals and associations had bought shares in the 22,5% stake in Íslandsbanki previously owned by the Icelandic government.
The long list of investors was published by Stundin. It was soon noted and then widely criticized that Benedikt Sveinsson, the Minister of Finance’s father, had bought a share for ISK 55 million through his company, Hafsilfur ehf.
Bjarni was asked about his father’s business venture in the morning show at Bylgjan radio station yesterday. He claimed that he wanted everything on the table and that he himself had only just seen the list of investors the previous day.
Bjarni denied having been privy to his father’s investment and claimed that for his own sake it would have been better had he not bought a share.
„I will not deny that it would have been more convenient for me, in many ways,“ said Bjarni.
This article was previously written in Icelandic by Katrín Heiða Guðjónsdóttir.