WHEN KREUGER WEFT

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 June 1932, Page 10

WHEN KREUGER WEFT

INQUIRIES RESENTED. STOCKHOLM, May 18. A dramatic account of Ivar Kreuger’s last days, as told by his arrested chief accountant, M. Hennig, is given in an official police report to-day. It tells of a meeting at Kreuger’s iParis flat on March 11, when Hennig several times raised the question of the Italian State bonds. Kreuger was asked if the interest on these had been paid. He replied f'Yes.” When he was asked how it had been paid. Kreuger gave evasive replies, and broke down and wept. • Later he became extremely .excited, and there were several hystrical scenes. Hennig then asked direct if the Italian bonds were genuine. Kreuger gave him a long look and replied “Yes." Hennig then asked Kreuger to excuse him if he had been too harsh or too inquisitive. The report proceeds to describe the receipt of Kreuger’s telegram from New York recording his failure to ol> tain a loan; the hurried conference in Stockholm with the Riksbank, the Prime Minister, and the Finance Minister; and the balance-sheet which was cabled to America after being adjust ed with a fictitious sum of £10,000,000.

Hennig further reveals the fact that two of the directors of the concern, M. Ahlstrom and M. Sjostrom, in their own names, but for Kreuger personally, raised vast sums of money with shares belonging to Kreuger- and Toll as security. This loan was never included in the books of Kreuger and Toll, and by special orders was kept a close secret. For several years, Hennig says, there had been juggling with large uunis from one account to the other. When the balance-sheet was to be made up for 1930 it was found that more than 400.000,000 Swedish crowns were needed to put it in order. When Hennig reported this fact to M. Sjostrom, the latter became hysterical and explained: “I have always said that we were going to hell in this way.” On Kreuger’s return from abroad *.ome time later he informed Hennig that he had more than this sum in Italian Treasury bonds and other With this explanation Hennig was satisfied. Finally Hennig, who was also one of the directors, revealed that when he asked any unpleasant question, Kreuger always retorted: “Are you trying to plot against me?” A second police report contains the evidence of M. Holm and M. Huldt, two other arrested associates. According to their statements, the lial-ance-sheet of the Dutch Kreuger and Toll Company is in an impossible tangle. The value of the French assets had been included twice, each time at approximately £1,500,000, whereas in actual fact there was a huge debt. The assets also included an entry under “Treasury bonds” for £2,000,000. These were the non-exis-tent Italian Treasury bonds. The police state that during their investigations new facts have been revealed which necessitate further investigation.