ECONOMY , KRIM – Tax lawyer receives millions of replacements as a result of Transocean case

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Tax Lawyer Sverre Eilifsson Koch was released in 2014 in the Transocean case, the largest case of tax from Norway. Now he has received several millions of compensation.

In the recent verdict of the Oslo District Court, the state is found guilty of unjustified prosecution of the former partner and tax consultant at the law firm Thommessen.

The state has to pay Sverre Eilifsson Koch just over NKr 481,000 in compensation for Thommessen's alleged loss of profit, while his company Sveko Invest AS received NKr 4.9 million. In addition, the state has to pay Koch 179 000 Danish kroner in so-called interest rates and nearly 1.1 million kroner in fees.

From now on, the state has been recognized to cover Koch's unsuccessful costs in the nine-month Transocean trial that ended in September 2013, of just over 2.1 million NOK, as well as the claim for half a million dollars of rebels. In the past, the state has also respected Koch's claim of 884,000 crowns for the lost work allowance.

When Koch was detained in the criminal case in July 2014, the state was sentenced to pay him nearly $ 14 million in fees.

Should not bear the risk

The case of compensation was in the district court of Oslo for only two days in early June because the state had already received a claim for compensation.

– The state has not disputed the existence of the causal link. The lawsuit is the direct cause of the financial loss of Koch and Sveko, and the claim of causation is thus satisfied, Judge Mats Wilhelm Ruland says in the verdict.

In the judgment, Ruland points out that the work as a partner in Thommessen has generated significant revenue for Koch for many years and that he has undoubtedly suffered a significant drop in his income, especially at the time when the criminal case was ongoing. Although compensation for future income loss is not necessary, the court considers that it is likely that Koch also suffered such losses as a result of the lawsuits.

– It is not reasonable for Koch and Sveko to bear the risk of financial loss, which in this case is due to the pursuit of the strongest means of power available to the state , namely prosecution. The court finds that the state is closest to the risk, writes Ruland.

Reviews against Økokrim

The Transocean case has been described as the most important tax case in Norway. This began when Økokrim opened an investigation into the sale of twelve Transocean rigs to affiliates registered in the Cayman Islands in 2005. Økokrim said it avoided about 10 billion crowns of taxes.

Two Transoceanian companies and three tax advisers, including Koch, a partner in Thommessen, were unequivocally acquitted in 2014. After appealing for falsification of the other defendants outside Koch, Økokrim decided to withdraw the case. call just before the appeal. The boss of Økokrim, Trond Eirik Schea, said the defendants were innocent and regretted the "inconvenience" that they had experienced for eleven years.

Last June, Økokrim received strong criticism from an external committee that had handled the Transocean case. The committee pointed out that the case was characterized by poor monitoring and involvement of the management of Økokrim. The committee said, among other things, that the investigation in the case was "unstructured and ad hoc".

(© NTB)