A co-defendant claims payments to Stein Lier-Hansen were for consulting services rather than financial fraud or money laundering, amidst allegations of fictitious hunting invoices linked to Lier-Hansen.
The article discusses allegations against Stein Lier-Hansen regarding his involvement with Norwegian Industry, where invoices for hunting services are under scrutiny. A co-defendant, a hunting associate in his 70s, testified and claimed that the payments made to Lier-Hansen were misrepresented as consultation fees rather than acts of financial wrongdoing or money laundering.
The prosecutor's office suspects that many of the payments made from Norwegian Industry were fictitious, indicating a potential scheme orchestrated by Lier-Hansen. Key evidence includes the observation that significant amounts of money were transferred shortly after payments were received by Norwegian Industry, suggesting a deliberate connection between the transactions and potential financial misconduct.
The co-defendant acknowledged inaccuracies in the invoices he submitted, claiming he merely wrote what Lier-Hansen instructed him to, despite discrepancies in the hunting quotas and numbers of animals cited. This admission, combined with the timing of the payments, raises serious questions about the legitimacy of the financial dealings involving Lier-Hansen and his associates, highlighting issues of accountability and transparency within the industry.
