Iceland ex-PM pleads not guilty to charges over role in banking collapse

Former Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde accused of charges that he was grossly negligent for failing to stop the nation’s banking collapse during the 2008 financial crisis yesterday pleaded not guilty.

Haarde told reporters that he would prove his innocence and claimed that he was accused of the charges as a result of the first political trial in the nation’s history. Haarde is facing the trial in the Landsdomur, a special court created to try government ministers.

The Special Investigation Committee convened in 2008 by the Ireland Parliament to investigate the collapse of the country’s three largest banks, in its investigation reports determined that Haarde and former central bank head David Oddsson knew that banks were assuming overseas debt but took no action from their side to prevent or mitigate the effects of the accumulation.

Haarde is the first world leader charged of an offense in relation to the financial crisis. If convicted, Haarde could face two years in prison.

Report by Reuben