The government has called for a meeting on combating tax evasion and money laundering, which will take place Monday morning at the Ministry of Justice. The background for the meeting is the TV 2 documentary “The Black Swan,” which reveals serious criminal activity in money laundering and fraud involving the disposal of contaminated soil. The meeting, which will last from 11 am to 12 pm, will be attended by several ministers from the government, and the topics to be discussed include money laundering and tax evasion. Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard has expressed his outrage at the revelations brought to light by the documentary and has made it clear that he is open to proposals for improving efforts against these forms of crime.
The documentary, which was released at the end of May, uses hidden recordings and an informant within the criminal environment to expose the extensive criminal activity. The minister emphasized the importance of understanding that there are so-called “enablers” from the top of society who assist criminals in laundering money. The consequences of the documentary’s revelations have already been significant. Lawyer and former partner at the law firm Horten, Nicolai Dyhr, has been dismissed and is now being investigated by the Bar Association. In addition, lawyer Lise Roulund has been reported to the police by the same association.
Martin Lavesen, chairman of the Bar Association, has apologized to the government and acknowledged that questions can be raised about the role of lawyers and oversight of them. Further consequences include municipal politician in Køge, Erik Swiatek (Socialdemokratiet), stepping down as local group leader for the Social Democratic Party, and environmental analyst Benny Østerø and property developer Martin Odgaard being reported to the police. The government’s meeting Monday morning will therefore be closely monitored to see what new measures could possibly be implemented to strengthen the fight against this type of crime.