When investigators get beyond the secrecy and complexity they may find another Enron, writes Rowena Mason. . .

. . . The state prosecutor has now hired Eva Joly, the Norwegian-French investigator who led Europe’s biggest ever fraud investigations into bribery and corruption at oil group Elf Aquitaine. . . .

“Finding proof will start at home in Iceland, but my instinct is that it will spread,” she said. “If there are things relevant to the UK we will get in touch with the Serious Fraud Office. If there are things relevant to Germany we will get in touch with their authorities.”  The investigators will also look at whether money flowed from Iceland to Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands, especially Tortola.

“In Iceland, there is more than enough for a starting point for the investigation, given all the talk about market manipulation and unusual loans,” said Ms Joly. “If these are proved they are embezzlement and fraud. The priority is tracing any flow of assets from the banks and getting them back.” 13-Apr-09.