Icelandic authorities arrested the former chief executive of collapsed bank Kaupthing on Thursday — the first high profile banker to be detained in the wake of the tiny Nordic country’s financial crisis, The Associated Press reports.
The special prosecutor tasked with investigating the Icelandic banking crash of October 2008 said that Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson is suspected of falsifying documents and breaking laws on stock trading for personal gain.
Sigurdsson is being held in police custody until a bail hearing Friday at the Reykjavik District Court.
Prosecutor Olafur Thor Hauksson said he planned to ask that the former banker be kept in custody for two weeks to prevent the possibility of him tampering with evidence or interfering with the ongoing investigation.
Sigurdsson can appeal to the Supreme Court if the prosecutor’s request is granted in the district court.
