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Swedish ministers profit from Lundin: report

Published: 13 Mar 12 08:05 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/39634/20120313/

Over half of Sweden’s government ministers have shares in investment funds that put money into Sweden-based oil giant Lundin Petroleum, a new report has revealed, prompting quick action by ministers who claimed they were "unaware" of the finer details of their portfolios.

A review of government ministers' investment holdings by daily Aftonbladet has revealed that 13 of Sweden’s 24 ministers own shares in funds that finance Lundin Petroleum, which has shaken feathers at the Riksdagen.

Among those involved are prime minister Fredrick Reinfeldt, foreign minister Carl Bildt and EU minister Birgitta Ohlsson.

When confronted with the allegations, Ohlsson claimed she was fully aware of the holdings in her investment portfolio, and acted immediately.

“I have chosen to do my part by selling all of my funds,” she told the paper on Tuesday.

“There are probably many who were unaware of this. It's about Sweden's most common funds which own shares in several hundred companies that are continuously being replaced."

Meanwhile, political scientist Ulf Bjereld argued that politicians have a “moral responsibility” to watch over their own portfolios.

Lundin Petroleum has come under fire on several occasions, notably after they allegedly broke international law with crimes against humanity in South Sudan between 1997 and 2003.

Other ministers have refused to comment on the matter, according to Aftonbladet, and Reinfeldt’s press secretary has stated that he does not believe ministers should comment on their personal portfolios.

The Local/og (news@thelocal.se)

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09:23 March 13, 2012 by AHA
Does that surprise anyone? I believe that many top Social Democrats have too.
09:34 March 13, 2012 by gpafledthis
What crap !! No minister should oversee their investments while in office !! Learn from us(US) the loot goes into a blind trust handled by others until we run them out with scorn-less than your-constant diatribes !! If I was in the swedish govt. I vote to euthanize the whole lot of you !!
09:35 March 13, 2012 by RobinHood
Lundin is a major Swedish company. Most Swedish savings, investment and pension funds hold Lundin shares, and almost everyone who saves, invests or has a private Swedish pension "profits" from Lundin.
10:26 March 13, 2012 by asteriks
Oooo, now we see why Sweden mix itself in wars and why Sweden help to Americans about colonizations of energy countries. Selling of weapon and stealing energy resources, that's politics of Carl Bildt.
11:46 March 13, 2012 by dogbasket
Well, if Aftonbladet (and apparently also The Local) want to continue their muck-raking "sensational news", they can take a look at Lundin Petroleum AB's 15 largest shareholders at

http://www.lundin-petroleum.com/sve/shareholder_statistics.php

where one can see that AMF Försäkring & Fonder is the 6th largest shareholder. AMF is a huge insurance and pension organisation owned 50% by the socialist trade-union organisation LO. Half of the board members of AMF are from LO. And the 14th largest shareholder of Lundin Petroleum AB is AFA Försäkring. Also an insurance giant that is owned one third by LO.

So it's high time that AB swept in front of its own socialist doorstep before criticising others for having a vague indirect investment in Lundin through funds owned by a large part of the Swedish population. Sad also that The Local blindly reprints muck written by Aftonbladet.
11:58 March 13, 2012 by Abe L
Why why why is this being displayed as a bad thing? THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE. I would invest in Lundin as well and it's a gigantic asset to the Swedish economy and welfare. There is no moral responsibility, in fact we should encourage people to invest in these companies so they get bigger and contribute even more to the Swedish economy. The more financial means the larger their market and the easier it is to eliminate competition.
05:58 March 14, 2012 by skatty
And after all; it's oil,which say the last word!
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