Europe

Europe

UK ’terror’ assets freeze irks Iceland

20 September 2011 04:11 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Iceland’s economic officials say they may seek compensation from Britain over the anti-terrorism laws it imposed on Reykjavik after Icesave bank collapsed in 2008, APA reports quoting Press TV.

Icelandic Minister of Economic Affairs Arni Arnason said on Monday that the damage to Icelandic companies stood at about 5.2 billion kronur (about $44.2 million).

He also claimed that the indirect damage impacting the reputation of the country’s economy and companies was much more, AFP reported.

"I have a feeling, without having proof, that the damage to our reputation because of the terrorist laws being used and Iceland’s financial isolation after the crash might be more," he said.

Icesave’s parent company Landsbankinn collapsed at the end of 2008.

Icesave had some 340,000 British and Dutch savers who lost their savings in the collapse.

When Icesave collapsed, the former Icelandic prime minister said his country could not give a guarantee that it would be able to reimburse British customers of the online bank.

As a result, British Prime Minster Gordon Brown accused his Icelandic counterpart of "unacceptable" and "illegal" behavior.

London then used anti-terrorism legislation to freeze Icesave assets in Britain, in effect listing Iceland’s central bank as a terrorist organization.

Iceland’s Finance Ministry recently published a report claiming that the decision cost Iceland between 2 and 9 billion Icelandic kronur ($17-77 million or 12-56 million euros).