Secrecy So Total Hotel Staff Cannot Clean

“On Tuesday, January 22, 1991, eight people from Tetra Pak gathered at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm: Bertil Hagman with his wife, Jörgen Haglind, director of communications, Bengt Eckerwall, head of research in Lausanne, Lennart Ohlsson, head of finance in Lausanne, the secretaries Rosemarie Werner and Kristina Kessel, and the trusted chauffeur Bengt Jensen. All the rooms were reserved under their names and not the company’s. Three of the rooms were converted into offices. The blackout was total; hotel staff were forbidden to clean at regular times and to prevent leaks, all transportation to and from the hotel was handled by Bengt Jensen. The Tetra people even had their own telephone and fax lines installed to minimize the risk of eavesdropping.”

“The silence and closed nature appear to be the family’s wish. They have built a corporate culture where everyone has kept quiet externally, and the group has been structured to limit transparency. In this way, the family has managed to remain very private for a long time. The desire to remain unknown may have been influenced by a couple of events. Firstly, the death threat against Ruben in the 1960s. If he did not pay 50,000 kronor by a certain date – the money was to be sent away with carrier pigeons – he would be murdered. Secondly, in around 1985, the Danish police exposed the terrorist organization Blekingegade Gang’s plans to kidnap Jörn Rausing while he was studying in Lund and demand 25 million dollars in ransom.”