Finance Credit Norge AS
Private
IndustryDebt collection, Financial services
FateBankruptcy following the discovery of a NOK 1.4 billion fraud scandal
Founded1995
Founder
  • Torgeir Stensrud
  • Trond Kristoffersen
Defunct2002
Hq location cityLysaker, Bærum
Hq location countryNorway
Area servedNordic Region
Services
  • Debt collection
  • Factoring
  • Purchase of overdue claims
Net incomeNOK 171 million (2001, reported figure, later proven to be falsified)
Num employeesApproximately 100 (2001)
ParentFinance Credit Group

Finance Credit was a Norwegian company that went bankrupt in 2002, after facing criminal investigation for siphoning funds (in total 1.4 billion NOK) it borrowed from six Norwegian banks to offshore tax havens.[1] What became known as the Finance Credit scandal in Norwegian media is the biggest economic fraud in the history of Norway.[2]

The company was founded as Finance Credit Ltd in London in 1995 by Torgeir Stensrud and Trond Kristoffersen.[3] The Norwegian fraud case involved a complex array of legal entities, including Finance Credit Group AS, Finance Credit AS, and Finance Credit Norge ASA.[4][5][6]

In October 2004 Kristoffersen was convicted on charges of fraud and sentenced to 9 years in prison and to pay 1,178 million NOK in compensation to the defrauded banks.[7] In October 2005 Stensrud received the same conviction and was sentenced to 7 years in prison and to pay 1,128 million NOK in compensation.[8][9]

Trond Kristoffersen

Trond Kristoffersen (13 August 1956 – August 2013) was born in Hammerfest. In addition to his prison and compensation sentences, Kristofferesen was barred from ever engaging in any independent form of trade, as well as from holding senior or board positions in any companies.

He was incarcerated in Ullersmo prison from 2007, after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal, and was serving the rest of his 9-year prison sentence.[10] After six years in jail he was released after lodging an appeal. Kristoffersen died in August 2013.[11]

Torgeir Stensrud

Torgeir Stensrud (July 1, 1949 – September 27, 2015) was chairman of Finance Credit, a Norwegian former leader of Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers, and a military officer.[12][13]

In 2014 Stensrud was the general manager of a cycling project called "the Way Back", where former inmates and criminals used road cycling and exercise as a means to lead better lives.[14] He died in 2015.[15]

References

  1. ^ Fraud fears mount in Finance Credit scandal - Aftenposten.no Archived 2005-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Kandal, Odd Vegard (2010-11-04). "Ba om unnskyldning" (in nb-NO). NRK. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  3. ^ NTB, null (2005-09-06). "Økokrim med på å tilsløre Finance Credit-saken". www.dn.no. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  4. ^ NRK (2002-11-22). "Bikkjeslagsmål om Finance Credit" (in nb-NO). NRK. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  5. ^ "Dom i Høyesterett - Tidligere styremedlems ansvar overfor selskapets konkursbo - Lovdata". lovdata.no. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  6. ^ Jahr, Bjørn Olav (2005). Smarte skurker - grådige gubber: historien om Finance Credit. Oslo: Bojahr Media. pp. 282–283. ISBN 978-1-84603-028-4.
  7. ^ NRK (2004-10-19). "Ni års fengsel for Kristoffersen" (in nb-NO). NRK. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  8. ^ Sunnanå, Magne (12 April 2007). "FINANCE CREDIT-KOLLAPSEN: Syv år for Stensrud, Borgarting lagmannsrett gir ikke Torgeir Stensrud strafferabatt etter Finance Credit-kollapsen" [FINANCE CREDIT COLLAPSE: Seven years for Stensrud, Borgarting Court of Appeal does not cut penalty for Torgeir Stensrud after collapse of Finance Credit]. E24. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  9. ^ NRK (2005-10-20). "Stensrud fikk sju år" (in nb-NO). NRK. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  10. ^ NRK (2005-11-29). "Høyesterett sier nei til Kristoffersen" (in nb-NO). NRK. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  11. ^ "Norges største bedragerisak for retten på ny" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 4 November 2013.
  12. ^ Redaksjon, Aftenposten (2015-10-07). "Nekrolog: Torgeir Stensrud" (in nb). www.aftenposten.no. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  13. ^ "KPMG reddet Stensrud: FC-gründer Torgeir Stensrud ble våren 1999 reddet av revisorgiganten KPMG" [KPMG rescued Stensrud: FC-founder Torgeir Stensrud was rescued in Spring 1999 by auditor giant KPMG]. DN.no (DN nye medier AS). 2 March 2004. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  14. ^ Karstensen, Heidi Elisabeth Odde (2014-07-11). "Sykler Norge på kryss og tvers" (in nb-NO). NRK. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  15. ^ "Death notice, page 28". Aftenposten. 30 September 2015.

Further reading

  • Jahr, Bjørn Olav (2005). Smarte skurker - grådige gubber : historien om Finance Credit. Oslo: Bojahr Media. ISBN 978-1-84603-028-4.
  • Jahr, Bjørn Olav (2022). Penger i arbeid - historien om Finance Credit. Oslo: Gyldendal. ISBN 9788205575301.