Earlier today local news site Vísir broke the news that police had arrested two women last Friday in connection to an attempt to blackmail the prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. The two women were identified as sisters, Malín Brand and Hlín Einarsdóttir. Both have had long and successful careers in journalism. Malín as a journalist at newspaper Morgunblaðið and RÚV – the National Broadcasting Service, and Hlín as the editor of lifestyle website Bleikt.is.
Read more: Two women arrested for attempting to blackmail the prime minister
According to the sources of Vísis the sisters threatened to reveal information about the financial connections of Sigmundur Davíð and Björn Ingi Hrafnsson, the owner of online local media conglomerate Vefpressan, which operates several news and lifestyle websites, including Bleikt where Hlín worked. At the time Hlín and Björn Ingi lived together.
Last fall Björn Ingi acquired the newspaper and news site DV. Allegedly the sisters had information, including emails, which indicated that Sigmundur Davíð had financed the purchase. At the time, many questioned how the purchase was financed, as local news site Kjarninn reported.
Björn Ingi has close connections to the Progressive party, which Sigmundur Davíð chairs. In 2003 to 2004 he was as the assistant of Halldór Ásgrímsson, then Foreign Secretary and chairman of the party and served as the party’s representative on the Reykjavik City council in 2006 to 2008.
Björn Ingi told local news website Stundin that he knows nothing about the blackmail: “This is just a very tragic tale”.
Earlier today local news site Vísir broke the news that police had arrested two women last Friday in connection to an attempt to blackmail the prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. The two women were identified as sisters, Malín Brand and Hlín Einarsdóttir. Both have had long and successful careers in journalism. Malín as a journalist at newspaper Morgunblaðið and RÚV – the National Broadcasting Service, and Hlín as the editor of lifestyle website Bleikt.is.
Read more: Two women arrested for attempting to blackmail the prime minister
According to the sources of Vísis the sisters threatened to reveal information about the financial connections of Sigmundur Davíð and Björn Ingi Hrafnsson, the owner of online local media conglomerate Vefpressan, which operates several news and lifestyle websites, including Bleikt where Hlín worked. At the time Hlín and Björn Ingi lived together.
Last fall Björn Ingi acquired the newspaper and news site DV. Allegedly the sisters had information, including emails, which indicated that Sigmundur Davíð had financed the purchase. At the time, many questioned how the purchase was financed, as local news site Kjarninn reported.
Björn Ingi has close connections to the Progressive party, which Sigmundur Davíð chairs. In 2003 to 2004 he was as the assistant of Halldór Ásgrímsson, then Foreign Secretary and chairman of the party and served as the party’s representative on the Reykjavik City council in 2006 to 2008.
Björn Ingi told local news website Stundin that he knows nothing about the blackmail: “This is just a very tragic tale”.
