Kari Røkke

"Røkke chose to write out a check for 7,000 dollars from the account of Karina Fisheries Inc. at Peoples Bank. Then he neatly put it in an envelope, wrote a pleasant letter, and mailed the supposed payment. 'Supposed' because of course, there was no coverage on the check. And one can imagine how the management of Rapp Hydema reacted to this maneuver. Here they had trusted and supported a young upstart, and the thanks they got was being kept at bay with sweet talk and rubber checks! Suddenly, Røkke had as much goodwill as a porcupine in a nudist camp. He went from being a promising challenger to something of a nightmare for his creditors. For Rapp Hydema was far from alone; Røkke could likely have gathered a small May 17 parade of creditors if he had wished it. It turned out that he had promised and guaranteed in a similar style all around the town. Yet, he continued to issue worthless guarantees to extract even more money from the gullible suppliers. For example, there was no coverage for the personal guarantee Kjell Inge Røkke handwrote on February 24th of the same year to the cable supplier Gourock Division in Ballard. There he knew Doug Turnbull, and the firm supplied fishing equipment for 75,000 dollars which Røkke and his wife Kari personally guaranteed: "We also guarantee that Karina Corporation and Karina Fisheries Inc. will pay the debt to Gourock Division." Signed by Kjell Inge Røkke, both for himself and for the two companies."

"It was a sluggish year in the fishing industry and many crab boats lay idle. However, downturns always offer opportunities for those who think ahead and dare to invest. Røkke and Breskovich took advantage of the situation and bought a couple of cheap small boats. On May 13, 1986, new drama arose. "Karina Explorer" struck an underwater reef and sank within a few minutes. Fortunately, the entire crew was rescued, but the boat was lost. For Kari Røkke, it was just a matter of sitting down at the typewriter and drafting a letter on behalf of Kjell Inge Røkke: "The boat was insured. We expect the first payment within 110 days, around the end of August, and by November we should have received the final payment. The boat, crew, and financial creditors will be paid with the first payment from the insurance. The rest will go to the unsecured creditors," Røkke promised at the end of June 1986. Then he went to Alaska, out of reach of the creditors."