Chief State Attorney Lars Erik Alfheim says he expects the Oslo police to go broad in the investigation of the politicians’ commuter homes. He does not want to limit the spotlight to the six that the press has revealed.
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On Thursday night, it became known that the police in Oslo will investigate whether politicians with commuter homes may have committed fraud. It happens after an order from the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Oslo.
It is Lars Erik Alfheim who has asked the police to investigate the case. He is the first public prosecutor in Oslo.
“We have asked the police to investigate the so-called commuter cases that have been in the media this autumn,” Alfheim told Aftenposten.
– What was it that made you ask for it?
– It has a background in the cases that have emerged over time, but also in recent days. We have now come to the point that, in my opinion, it is right for the police to investigate this complex of cases.
Aftenposten has during the autumn revealed that several politicians may have received commuter housing on the wrong basis. They have been registered elsewhere in the country, but also owned housing in or near Oslo. On Tuesday, Adresseavisen revealed that Storting President Eva Kristin Hansen has done the same.
Alfheim says he is not aware that any review of individual politicians was submitted at the time he gave his order. The police can open an investigation themselves when there is “reasonable reason to investigate whether there are criminal offenses”.
– Not intended as a delimitation
In the investigation order, Alfheim points to six politicians.
“Throughout the autumn, at least six named Storting representatives’ possible misinterpretation of the aforementioned regulations has emerged.”
Alfheim told Aftenposten that he still did not intend to set any restrictions for the police.
– I have written it to show the police what kind of case it is. But it is certainly not intended as any delimitation on our part.
He also emphasizes that no one has been suspected or charged by virtue of his order. It is up to the police whether anyone should be prosecuted.
– The six politicians you point to have in common that they have owned a home near Oslo at the same time as they have been given a commuter home. Is this specifically what you want the police to look at?
– The police have been asked to investigate the case complex as such.
– But unlike other politicians who are mentioned in the complex, these six have owned housing near Oslo and may therefore have received commuter housing on the wrong basis. Has it been crucial to your decision?
– It is actually the scope of the information that has come during the autumn that is it. It is important for me to say that the investigation is not bound in any way. It is what has emerged so far that forms the main basis for the investigation.
Will investigate if there is fraud
Alfheim has asked the police to investigate whether politicians have committed fraud. This may have happened because they have given incorrect information to the Storting and therefore received commuter housing. In this way, they may have obtained an “unjustified gain”.
A commuter home can constitute an annual benefit of between 75,000–150,000, depending on how large it is. The Storting owns 143 apartments that can be allocated to politicians who are registered or actually live more than 40 kilometers away.
Aftenposten has revealed several politicians, but there may be several cases that are not yet known. What are your expectations of the police with this in mind?
– I assume that the police go out wide and investigate the entire case complex. I expect that they seek to find out a possible scope and possible consequences of it, says Alfheim.
Several politicians have said that they have “misunderstood” the rules from the Storting’s administration. Several have pointed out that the rules are unclear.
– If the regulations have actually been unclear or the politicians have received misleading advice – what does that mean for their criminal liability?
– I do not want to go into those assessments now. It’s too early to tell.
– What role does the administration itself play in this?
– The investigation must seek to uncover this.
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