Norway's former industry chief Stein Lier-Hansen has told a court that his extensive use of hunting, fishing, and private jets for relationship-building was known to his employer. Lier-Hansen made the statement on the trial's first day, where he faces charges of gross corruption and gross breach of trust related to 10.6 million kroner in expenses.
"It is not credible that it was not known that I used hunting and fishing, and spent a lot of time on it, to build relationships," Lier-Hansen said from the witness stand. "Everyone who wanted to know, could have known." The case centers on costs for cabins, seaplanes, and restaurant visits from 2016 to 2023 that prosecutors say should not have been charged to his employer, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO).
The Core of the Prosecution's Case
The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, known as Økokrim, asserts Lier-Hansen inflicted unjustified expenses on his own organization. The total sum specified in the indictment is approximately 10.6 million Norwegian kroner. These costs, accrued over a seven-year period, are alleged to be private in nature. The activities financed included hunting trips, fishing expeditions, the use of holiday cabins, seaplane travel, and numerous restaurant visits. Økokrim maintains these were personal benefits improperly billed to the employer as business expenses, constituting a serious breach of fiduciary duty.
A Partial Admission in Court
As proceedings opened, Lier-Hansen entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of gross corruption. He did, however, acknowledge partial guilt concerning the charge of gross breach of trust. This partial acknowledgment suggests a defense strategy that may seek to contest the corrupt intent required for the corruption charge while conceding some failure in his managerial duties. His subsequent testimony framed these activities as an integral, and supposedly transparent, part of his role in cultivating important business and political connections for NHO Norsk Industri.
The Defense's Argument of Transparency
Lier-Hansen's defense hinges on the claim that his methods were not hidden. In his view, the extensive use of leisure and hospitality was a deliberate and recognized tool for networking. His statement implies that within the organization's culture or through its financial oversight, there were opportunities to see and question these expenditures. The argument "everyone who wanted to know, could have known" attempts to shift the focus from concealment to alleged organizational acquiescence. This poses a fundamental question for the court about the line between legitimate business development and unlawful personal gain, especially when large sums are involved over many years.
The Role and the Stakes
Stein Lier-Hansen was a prominent figure in Norwegian business circles as the head of NHO Norsk Industri, the influential industry federation within the main Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise. The position involves lobbying, policy shaping, and close contact with senior government officials and corporate leaders. The trial scrutinizes whether the tools he used for this relationship-building crossed into illegality. A conviction on gross corruption charges carries significant potential penalties and would mark a rare high-profile fall for a business leader in Norway, a country that consistently ranks highly in global transparency and low-corruption indexes.
What Comes Next in the Trial
The trial will proceed with the prosecution presenting its detailed evidence to support the charges. This will involve forensic accounting, witness testimonies from within NHO, and possibly from external partners, to establish that the expenses were private and that Lier-Hansen acted with corrupt intent. The defense will continue to argue that these activities were a known and accepted part of his work portfolio. The court's task will be to examine thousands of pages of documentation and testimonies to determine where the truth lies between a flawed but known business practice and a deliberate criminal scheme.
A Test for Norwegian Business Ethics
This trial is more than a financial case. It serves as a public test of Norwegian business ethics at the elite level. Norway's economy, particularly its dominant offshore energy sector, relies heavily on cooperation and close ties between industry and the state. The Lier-Hansen case puts the informal systems of networking that underpin this relationship under a legal microscope. His defense, that relationship-building through hospitality was an open secret, challenges perceptions of how business influence is actually wielded. The verdict will send a clear signal about the limits of such practices within the Norwegian legal and ethical framework.
The proceedings continue as the court works to determine if this was a case of misunderstood networking or a clear violation of trust that others chose not to see.