Former bank CEO appeals prison sentence
Sigurður G. Guðjónsson and Sigurjón Þ. Árnason in court. mbl.is/Árni Sæberg
Former Landsbanki Íslands CEO Sigurjón Þ. Árnason has decided to appeal prison sentence he received this morning at Reykjavík District Court.
Árnason was sentenced to 12 months in prison for market manipulation, thereof nine months suspended. Two other former employees of the bank were sentenced as well for the same crime while the third was aquitted. The three men were charged by prosecutors for price manipulation of shares in Landsbanki Íslands.
Árnason's defending lawyer, Sigurður G. Guðjónsson, said his client had decided to appeal the sentence to Iceland's Supreme Court since he believed no evidence had been presented that could justify the conclusion reached by the District Court.
"There were no witnesses that testified that he [Árnason] had organised market manipulation in the bank and there were no written evidence or anything that implicated him with market manipulation there," Guðjónsson said to mbl.is.
The prosecution has on the other hand voiced its surprise to the media over the District Court's conclusion as it expected heavier sentences.
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