Temp agency owner is back in court – Sverrir is charged with tens of millions in tax evasion months after huge fine

On March 30, the Reykjavík District Court will hear a case against Sverri Halldór Ólafsson, accused of submitting false tax returns and understating his income by ISK 45 million.

On November 11 last year, Sverrir was found guilty of major tax and money laundering offenses while operating three companies. He was sentenced to 20 months probation and to pay a fine of 240 million ISK to the Treasury. See the judgment here. Tax evasion amounts to approximately ISK 160 million.

At the end of 2020, DV reported on the major bankruptcy of recruitment agency Ztrong Balkan, which was owned by Sverris, but the company was based in Síðumúl. No assets were found in the estate, but the declared claims amounted to ISK 155.5 million. The liquidator of the estate then declared in response to DV’s request:

“The company representative, Sverrir Halldór Ólafsson, said that it was a contracting company, but it would be more correct to describe the company as an interim agency. The company sent its side of the workers on various construction projects in the capital region. The extent of the bankruptcy was mainly due to the fact that a number of foreign employees were on the company’s payroll, but that the company failed to pay public dues and pension fund contributions etc because of them, and this case is currently being investigated by the public prosecutor.”

Prosecutor demands that Sverri be banned from starting a business

In the indictment, which will be heard later this month, Sverri’s alleged tax evasion relates to income years 2017, 2018 and 2019. The underreported income totals $45 million. ISK and underpaid income tax and local government is nearly 20 million ISK.

The prosecutor is demanding that Sverrir be given a sentence and pay all court costs. In addition, he is prohibited from founding a company with limited liability of the partners, from sitting on the board of directors, from exercising the function of manager or otherwise managing the company or from holding the majority of the voting rights in such a company for up to three years.