Two former executives at Norway’s dominant dairy Tine and the TetraPak carton producer have been convicted for exchanging confidential information and engaging in bribery. A local court has now sentenced them both to a year in prison for corruption.
Both men were trusted employees, but after newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) first wrote about the wining, dining and close business relationship between the two, Tine called in the police dealing with white-collar crime. Tine’s employee was responsible for buying milk cartons and other packaging for the dairy, and TetraPak suddenly seemed to have an unfair advantage.
An investigation led to indictments against both men who ultimately confessed to the bribery and anti-competitive activity. DN reported this week that the Oslo County Court (Oslo tingrett) sentenced both men to a year in prison. The Tine man was also found guilty of revealing confidential information about TetraPak’s main competitor, Elopak.
“There is no doubt that Tine and society in general are best served if there’s at least one competitor to TetraPak,” the court ruled. The men were also fined, with the Tine employee ordered to repay around NOK 200,000 in charges he’d put on his company expense account to cover trips, hotels, restaurant and bar bills.
newsinenglish.no staff
