Johan Warpe

"Sture also mastered the art of surprise. He contacted Johan Warpe and lawyer Ola Røthe and invited them to Stora Julaboda. Just three days after Fredriksen's attempted arrest, Eriksen and Warpe entered into a peculiar agreement. Sture bought ten percent of Warpe's 100 million-claim on Fredriksen, with an option to buy the remaining 90 percent. While Sture had previously spoken very scornfully about Warpe's claim, both around restaurant tables and in public, the tone now changed. To Dagens Næringsliv he said: – Due to John Fredriksen's excesses, I am now joining forces with Johan Warpe to demand the money Warpe has been entitled to for several years, based on very clear agreements. The new partners raised the claim to 35 million dollars, 200 million kroner, because Fredriksen had become wealthier since the last time…"

"Fredriksen sank deeper into a quagmire of legal obligations until he got cold feet and wanted to get out. At the beginning of autumn 1987, he saw no other way than to ask Johan Warpe for help to save the remnants. If Carboni was a seasoned real estate dealer, Warpe was not far behind. He knew most of the tricks after 15 years in the industry on the Costa Blanca in Spain. Warpe went to Rome and met Carboni. He immediately understood that the project was not as lucrative as promised. Moreover, he reacted to the fact that there was no progress, but he was smart enough not to outright say that Fredriksen wanted to get away. In the discussions, Warpe simply reminded Carboni that he had previously promised that Aga Khan was also interested in the area. "Let us sell part of the area to Aga Khan to make progress in the project," Warpe suggested, before adding that in the meantime, the Fredriksen group would be content with investing three million dollars. Faced with his own promises, Carboni could do nothing but smile and nod, although he was probably boiling inside."

"John Fredriksen would later look back on the first part of the 90s as unproductive and wasted years. It might have been different if not so much energy had been spent on making enemies of old friends and business associates. Johan Warpe was far from the only one."