Bishop and CFO charged with aggravated fraud – Aftenbladet.no

Bishop and CFO charged with aggravated fraud – Aftenbladet.no

It should be about an amount of 50 million and a practice that has been going on for several years.

– First we had a search warrant decision against the diocese, but now also the two accused. This is a serious charge. There is a huge amount. And there is talk misappropriate of community assets. To be one of those type of case, this is serious, says police attorney Kristin Rusdal Oslo police.

Attorney Kjell Clement Ludvigsen bishop Bernt Eidsvig that his client.

Long questioning

Police undertook Thursday a search warrant at the premises of the Diocese Akersveien in downtown Oslo and should also have been bishop residence.

Several key people in the case set Thursday in interrogation in Police Headquarters on Greenland.

– It includes the bishop and the Chief Financial Officer. There are the two who have been charged, but several are being questioned. They cooperate and testify voluntarily, says Rusdal.

She denotes interrogations as fairly extensive, and expects that they will continue beyond Thursday.

It was Thursday not likely that the police will covet any custody in the case.

– We will decide when including interrogations are done. Currently there are no indications that there is a danger of destruction of evidence or evasion in this case, she says.

The lawyer can not currently estimate how long it will take to investigate the case.

– It depends on what we find in the seizure. This should have been ongoing for several years, and I expect that there is a fairly extensive material, she said.

Members Cheat

There are undertaking Oslo Catholic Diocese who is charged with aggravated fraud of 50 million.

Around twelve police officers entered the diocesan offices Thursday morning. County Governor of Oslo and Akershus has reviewed Roman Catholicism in Norway for membership cheating. Church may have received millions of dollars more in state aid than it was entitled to.

The Catholic Church found Catholic name in the telephone directory, searched up person your number in the National Register and notified them.

– The bishop has spoken several times to Dagbladet, where he has stated that one can not see that any criminal provisions are violated. They maintain that it is not committed any criminal offense, said diocesan lawyer Lars Holo VG.

Powerful medlemsvekst

Bishop Bernt Eidsvig were advised practice in 2012. The following year adopted episcopal council to liquidate method, but the practice of it should nevertheless have continued.

Eidsvig have regretted that decision was not implemented immediately. He said following Dagbladet Tuesday:

– The question is whether you have an intention, I think, to register people who are not Catholics. We have never tried it. We registered persons who are not, it is well no doubt. But I do not think that it is a clean registry anywhere in any denomination, without any excuse.

According to the diocesan attorney Lars Holo is the surprised reaction.

– They do not agree that there has been a punishable offense, and they is puzzled by the indictment says Holo NRK.

The last eight years have Roman Catholicism in Norway experienced a sharp medlemsvekst, from 46,640 in 2006 to 140,109 last year, according to Statistics Norway. (© NTB) (© NTB)