The former finance director of Norwegian publishing company Aschehoug in Oslo has been sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling more than NOK 9 million from the company over a period of several years. Leif Marius Schatvet must also reimburse Aschehoug and pay his former employer NOK 5 million in compensation.
Schatvet, age 51, had been a trusted employee and his false invoices and transfers of money to his own account went undetected until last December, when he inadvertently sent more of Aschehoug’s money to the wrong account. That alerted company accountants to the scam and Schatvet quickly confessed, resigning his position just days later.
He has since made a full confession, claiming he was under financial pressure following a divorce when he first started embezzling Aschehoug’s funds. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported that he has managed to reimburse Aschehoug for around 60 percent of the amount he skimmed off the publisher’s accounts. He has sold off property including a holiday home in the mountains and is also turning over an early inheritance to the company.
Now he’ll also need to spend three years in jail, a sentence he opted against appealing. His defense attorney said he felt the sentence was strict, even though it was seven months shorter than prosecutors had requested.
newsinenglish.no staff
