1000s of protesters urge PM to resign over fraud
Thousands of people have gathered in Iceland’s capital, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson after leaks over his secret wealth.
Huge crowds held a protest outside the parliament building in Reykjavik late Monday against the recently-released financial records involving the premier and his wife Anna Palsdotti.
Calls for Gunnlaugsson’s resignation have been on the rise since leaked “Panama papers” tax documents showed that the 41-year-old leader and his wife had purchased the offshore Wintris firm in the British Virgin Islands back in 2007.
According to the documents published by the Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Gunnlaugsson then sold his share to Palsdottir after he entered the parliament in 2009 for a symbolic sum of one dollar.
Gunnlaugsson is now accused of failing to declare an interest in the firm after entering the legislature to evade taxes.
The premier has insisted that his wife has paid her taxes and that the firm was intended to manage her inheritance from her businessman father, which is an unknown amount.
Following the demonstrations, the Icelandic leader said he had no intentions of resigning.
“I certainly won’t (resign) because what we've seen is the fact that, well, my wife has always paid her taxes. We've also seen that she has avoided any conflict of interest by investing in Icelandic companies at the same time that I'm in politics,” he said.
“And finally, we’ve seen that I've been willing to put the interests of the people of Iceland first even when it's at a disadvantage to my own family.”
Gunnlaugsson, who pledged to observe full transparency when becoming premier in 2013, failed to mention the matter when he first became member of parliament in April 2009.
He has been under growing pressure since his wife acknowledged the existence of the offshore company in mid-March before the release of the documents.
More than 25,000 Icelanders have signed a petition demanding his resignation.
The country’s opposition also says it will propose a no-confidence vote in parliament, most likely to be held this week.
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