Finance Ministry bought 48 bottles of wine from Santé

Iceland’s Finance Ministry bought 48 bottles of wine from alcohol supplier Santé in 2018 and 2019, despite its policy of buying alcohol for retail sale only from the state retailer ÁTVR, mbl.is reports.

The two invoices totalled 310,800 Icelandic krónur. One, from 2018, was for 205,200 krónur; the other, from 2019, was for 105,600 krónur. The purchases comprised 18 bottles of red wine, 12 bottles of champagne and 18 bottles of white wine.

A ministry spokesperson said the purchases were linked to catering services and that there were no other known examples of the ministry buying alcohol this way. The ministry said the invoices appeared to show alcohol being sold and delivered at retail without ÁTVR’s involvement, which did not comply with its policy and was an oversight.

Santé opened an online alcohol shop in 2021 but had sold alcohol before then. On June 19, the police commissioner for the Capital Region filed charges against the company’s owners, Arnar Sigurðsson and Elías Blöndal Guðjónsson, for alleged breaches of alcohol laws. They are accused of selling a bottle of red wine and a 12-can pack of beer in violation of ÁTVR’s retail monopoly. The owners have said they intend to defend themselves.

Previous reporting by mbl.is said the University of Iceland and the State Construction Contracting Agency had also bought alcohol from Santé. The university said its policy was to buy alcohol only from ÁTVR.