Fredriksen group

"The Fredriksen group committed to selling the eight chemical tankers "Fort Puma," "Fort Lion," "Fort Wolf," "Fort Leopard," "Fort Cheetah," "Northern Panten," "Northern Falcon," and "Northern Eagle," seven of them 40,000 tons, built in 1986 or 1988 and registered in Cyprus, to Odfjell's publicly listed company Storli for 205 million dollars. This gave the Fredriksen group a profit of 500 million kroner."

""Let's get to the point. The Fredriksen group has eight modern chemical ships that we understand are for sale. It has not been possible to agree on a price throughout the autumn, and Morten Mo here," he nodded towards the end of the table, "has taken this initiative to bring us together and agree.""

"The defense realized quite early that their most dangerous opponent was not the police, but the law firm Wikborg, Rein & Co, engaged by the insurance company Gard. Wikborg, Rein & Co could provide the police with the expertise that was lacking. For the Fredriksen side, it became crucial to reach a settlement with Gard in the civil case, so as to get rid of the troublesome law firm. The main opponent was lawyer Tom Haugård Evensen at Wikborg, Rein & Co. He had, as known, been working on the case for months before the police took action, and did not lose the thread when the defense began to stall. Evensen was eventually subjected to some pressure. Three representatives of the Fredriksen group met him at one of Oslo’s eateries, and offered him a very lucrative position elsewhere in the world. Evensen declined. Evensen also received unpleasant phone calls late at night, where it was claimed that his life could be significantly shortened. He recognized the man at the other end, and did not take the warnings too literally."

"The issue does not only concern Frontline, it is the same for all the companies in the Fredriksen group. Deals are constantly made where Fredriksen is actually dealing with himself; whether it's buying or selling, construction contracts, options, or freight agreements. And there are not always clear rules like in the case of Frontline. While Northern Offshore was listed on the stock market, John Fredriksen had other offshore interests privately. "Negotiations" to sell them to Northern Offshore did not succeed."