Two senior defence procurement officials released after fraud investigation

Two of the three senior officials from Norway’s Defence Materiel Agency (FMA) arrested on Thursday on suspicion of gross financial misconduct have been released, Dagbladet reports.

The three—two men and one woman—were detained in a morning raid by Norway’s National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim). They are accused of illegally increasing hourly rates for consulting services by 35 percent and violating public procurement rules, according to Økokrim’s press statement.

One of the detained, a divisional director, has refused to explain the allegations, Økokrim prosecutor Johan Løken told VG. The director’s lawyer, John Christian Elden, confirmed to Dagens Næringsliv that his client denies criminal liability. By Thursday evening, Elden told Aftenposten that his client would be released.

No detention hearings have yet been held for any of the three suspects, Løken confirmed to NTB. “We will continuously assess whether the conditions for pre-trial detention are met,” he said.

Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik (Labour) called the case “serious,” emphasising a zero-tolerance policy for corruption in the defence sector. “It is serious that employees in the defence sector are suspected of gross financial misconduct,” he told VG, adding that such cases undermine national defence capabilities when allocated funds are misused.

The FMA itself reported the suspected irregularities to Økokrim following an internal audit. FMA Director Gro Jære described the situation as “highly demanding” for both the accused and the agency. One of the detained officials operates a consulting firm that reportedly earned 4.1 million kroner (approx. €360,000) last year, according to VG.

A separate Økokrim risk assessment published Tuesday warned that defence-related allocations and procurements carry an elevated risk of corruption and financial misconduct in the sector.

Lawyers for two of the released officials told TV 2 and NRK that their clients deny the charges and were released after providing statements to investigators.