Prison and NOK 1.2 million fine.
The former sales manager of the Alsaker Fjordbruk-owned salmon processing plant Viking Fjord has been sentenced by Sunnhordland District Court to ten months imprisonment for selling salmon illegally. The man (47) has also been sentenced to pay back Alsaker Fjordbruk NOK 1.2 million (EUR 125,000) in damages.
The verdict has been determined by the district court.
In early December it became known that the man had confessed to selling salmon illegally while he was the CEO of Viking Fjord. The so-called confession case went to court on December 20.
According to the verdict the man is said to have sold salmon under the table from Viking Fjord during the period from April 1, 2014 to July 1, 2018. The orders for boxes of fish were placed in the production system and were made by various persons and companies.
“Once the boxes were filled up / produced, the order was deleted from the system,” said the verdict, which SalmonBusiness has had access to.
The man received payment in the form of cash, and sometimes also liquor and bank transfers. Some of the liquor was also resold, and therefore the man was also charged with having sold, poured and/or manufactured alcoholic beverages without a license.
According to the court the man has received a total bonus of at least NOK 1.2 million (EUR 125,000).
The former sales manager has also involved other employees, whom he was responsible for, to assist him in parts of the sale of the embezzled fish.
“He held a trusted position, and the actions represent a serious breach of trust against the employer and colleagues who have been set to perform actions for themselves as part of the investigation. He concealed the actions by manipulating the data,” the verdict stated.
According to the verdict, the defendant gave an unreserved confession in court, and consented to the fact that the case was settled by confessional judgment. Therefore, the man has been given a penalty of 25 per cent, which means the prison sentence is set at ten months.
The verdict was also reported by Intrafish.
