Oslo Mayor Per Ditlev-Simonsen apologized Monday for failing to report a Swiss bank account to Norwegian tax authorities, but he refused to resign.Ditlev-Simonsen, age 75, is due to leave office anyway on October 17, and turn over the mayor's post to the winner of local elections on September 10.
He made it clear to a special city commission questioning his role in the Swiss account controversy that he won't quit any earlier, at least not voluntarily. He will, however, withdraw from the current election campaign, where he'd been trying to help boost other Conservative candidates.
Ditlev-Simonsen also confirmed he had taken personal contact with tax authorities and would meet to settle any outstanding tax liabilities with them this week.
The veteran politician for the Conservatives, who served as Norway's Defense Minister from 1989-90, apologized profusely for failing to report the Swiss account on his income tax returns when he should have.
Originally wife's moneyHe said the account initially had been set up by his late wife Benedicte Werring in the 1980s, apparently in connection with an inheritance she'd received.
The couple had what's known as særeie in Norwegian, a system in which they maintained separate personal finances. That meant Ditlev-Simonsen had no transaction rights on the account.
When she died in 1990, however, the money in the account transferred to him and he admitted he should have reported it at that point. "I apologize for that as strongly as I can," he said, adding that he "blamed himself" for the failing to do so.
"When my wife died, I received NOK 1.5 million from the bank," he said, adding that the money was transferred to a new account which wasn't closed until 1995.
Statute of limitations ran outNorway's statute of limitations on tax cases goes back 10 years, meaning Ditlev-Simonsen probably won't be fined at this point. Opposition politicians urged him to make amends, and Ditlev-Simonsen replied that was for the tax authorities to decide.
The mayor leveled harsh criticism against his two former sons-in-law, who have been arguing with the mayor's daughter over divorce settlements. He accused them of conducting a professional media campaign, and charged that they'd made "direct threats" against him regarding the Swiss account.
"The whole case came up... like lightning from a clear sky," he said. He couldn't explain why he hadn't brought it up himself years ago.
Aftenposten English Web Desk.
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