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Icelandic boss bought home for £10.5m
Danny Brierley15.10.08
THE boss of an Icelandic bank bought a home in west London for £10.5million just months before his bank collapsed, it was claimed today.
Kaupthing chairman Sigurder Einarsson was said to have paid over £2.5million above the market value for the four-bedroom house in a deal financed by his bank.
The revelation comes ahead of meetings between council representatives and ministers to see what help can be given to local authorities hit by the Icelandic banking crisis which has put the savings of thousands of Britons at risk.
Some 116 councils and other public bodies have about £1billion invested in failed Icelandic banks. Last week Kaupthing's assets were frozen and investors' stakes wiped out when it went into receivership.
Reader views (14)
Purchased from a very good friend no doubt ???
Think a little more digging required
- Simon Latham, Bournemouth
"Amber" is quite correct in asking how he came to be allowed to buy here. Iceland is not an EEC member.
- David Chown, bordeaux france
squatters rights anyone
- Frank, stoke-on-trent england
Pull the ladder up!
- Olly, Santander, Spain
That house looks like a load of codswallop.
- Hilary, London
I'm alright Jack.
- Tony, Toronto, Canada
No wonder the bank went bust if he was willing to pay so much over the odds for a house, and a relatively ugly one at that. Clearly has no idea how to bargain ..
- Louise, Essex
Can you simply arrive from Iceland and stay. Surely you must need some sort of of Via, permit or permission from our Government to live here. How come people from other countries have to apply and we let this scumbag stay here?
Send him back to Iceland and sell his house and let some of the people/charities/councils have at least some of their cash back.
amber in Mitcham
- Amber In Mitcham, Mitcham Surrey
Go round there and ransack the house, lock, stock and barrel.
- P I Staker, London
I am having a moving in party on Saturday - all welcome. Bring a bottle.
- Siggy Einarsson, West London
And estate agents are seriously trying to tell us that the London market isn't over valued?
- Iain, Covent Garden
Reposess the house and give the proceeds back to the victims of his bank's neglectful demise.
- We, Kent, UK
You couldn't make it up. £2.5m over market value and financed by his bank ? In other words with money provided by UK depositors that they now cannot retrieve. So seize this house and sell it and return the money. But wait, its not worth nearly so much now is it ? I would call that fraud.
- Peter Haldane, London
Let's find that house and turn it over to squatters. We have been robbed and looted by these people - let us take back what is rightfully ours and let the entire system implode in on itself.
- Neil, london uk, Airstrip ONE .
