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HELICOPTER

Two helicopter suspects remanded in custody

Two men suspected of involvement in last week's daring helicopter heist have been remanded in custody by a Stockholm court. A third man has been released, while the remand hearing for a fourth suspect was postponed until Thursday.

Published: 30 September 2009 16:16 CEST
Two helicopter suspects remanded in custody

The hearings followed angry remarks from Sweden’s justice minister lambasting the police for leaking information to the press.

The court decided on Wednesday afternoon to order a 38-year-old man as well as the 34-year-old man suspected of flying the helicopter remanded in custody. Both are suspected of aggravated robbery or of being a accessories to aggravated robbery.

A 29-year-old man was being held on suspicions of either aggravated robbery or being an accessory to aggravated robbery was released following his hearing.

A fourth man, aged 36, had his remand hearing moved to Thursday.

Two other suspects, a 21-year-old male and a 31-year-old martial arts expert, were released on Tuesday night.

Investigators emphasized, however, that suspicions against the two men remain, but that it was no longer necessary to keep them detained.

Prosecutor Björn Frithiof, one of two prosecutors leading the investigation, confirmed that several more suspected culprits are being pursued.

“Everything indicates that considerably more people have been involved in this highly organized robbery,” he told TT.

“With this in mind, and considering the risk that the suspects remaining at large may evade capture and hide evidence, we can not release any further information at the present time.”

In his submission to the court, Frithiof wrote that there was good reason to suspect that, if released, the three remanded individuals would attempt to hinder the investigation.

As the delicate investigation continues, the Swedish police once again found themselves on the receiving end of withering criticism following allegations of suspected leaks to the media.

Sources at the National Criminal Investigation Department (Rikskriminalpolisen)

told TV4 that disgruntled Stockholm police officers have been leaking sensitive information pertaining to the investigation to the public.

The charges provoked a pointed response from Sweden’s Minister of Justice, Beatrice Ask, who pulled no punches in expressing her frustration over the situation

“I hope that none of them have the time to gossip to the general public, but that they shut up and do their jobs,” Ask said to TV4.

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FINANCE

Is Denmark’s government about to send you an enormous cheque?

Several of Denmark's political parties want to release part or all of Danish residents''frozen holiday money' ahead of the summer break, meaning a cheque of up to 24,500 kroner for someone earning 350,000 kroner a year. And some want to go even further and give out 'helicopter money'.

Published: 10 June 2020 08:18 CEST
Is Denmark's government about to send you an enormous cheque?
The government wants to put money in the hands of citizens. Photo: Bax Lindhardt/SP/Ritzau Scanpix
The Red Green Alliance is pushing for the government to mail out 10,000 kroner (€1,341) tax-free cheques to all earning less than 32,000 kroner (€4,292) a month. 
 
The political parties are set later this week to begin negotiating the so-called 'summer package', a stimulus package designed to encourage people in Denmark to spend more money in local businesses, hotels and cultural institutions during their summer staycations. 
 
“There is not much you can say against this, and that is why it is an incredibly important part of our deliberations,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told DR on Tuesday evening. .
 
“We think it is natural that when we discuss the end of the aid packages, that we also discuss the long-term economy. For example, it could also be holiday money.” 
 
The 100bn kroner in 'frozen holiday money' exists because Denmark has changed the way people build up holiday allowances as they work. Under the old scheme, you built up the allowance over a year and could only take it after the following May. Under the new one, you earn 2.08 days of holiday a month, which can be used immediately. 
 
Because people in Denmark would have earned double holiday money during the transition between the two systems, the government decided to only let them access the so-called 'frozen money' on retirement. 
 
 
As well as seeing the sense of releasing the holiday money, Frederiksen on Tuesday said she also understood some of the advantages of 'helicopter money' payments, which can channel money to those most likely to spend it. 
 
“That's something I have a great deal of sympathy for, and I can see that many economists support helicopter money,” she said, referring to the Red Green Alliance's proposal.
 
“It is reminiscent of the discussion we are having right now on holiday money. But we are going to be the boring party and point out that there is an economy we need to take care of on the other side of the crisis as well.” 
 
The government hopes to carry out political discussions over the summer package with other parties at the end of this week. 
 
The Danish People's Party, the Conservative Party, the New Right, and the Liberal Alliance are pushing to have the holiday money paid out ahead of the summer holiday as part of a stimulus package. 
 
The Confederation of Danish Employers and the Danish Trade Union Confederation also believe that the holiday money should be paid out.
 

And even Torben M. Andersen, the Aarhus University economics professor who chairs the government's economics expert group, supports the idea.  
 
“It will trigger such large payments to the citizen that it can probably do the work and get enough demand and consumption started in a first round of economic recovery,” he told the Politiken newspaper. 
 
 
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