Ex-celebrity manager does not admit criminal guilt – VG

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On Wednesday, former celebrity manager Erland Bakke (43) appeared in Oslo District Court, accused of incorrect explanation and forgery.

At 09.00 the trial started.

– Not guilty, Bakke said when the judge asked if he pleaded guilty.

Bakke is accused of fabricating an e-mail in connection with a lawsuit against VGTV and TV 2 presenter Mads Hansen (38), as VG mentioned in October last year.

The e-mail was to be from Playboy model Amalie Olufsen, who for a short period collaborated with Bakke. It was to document that the manager had lost a client – and thus money – due to criticism from Hansen on social media.

But Olufsen denies that she has ever written or sent the e-mail.

The reason why the email was sent is a longer conflict which involved Bakke, Hansen and comedian and VGTV profile Morten Ramm, who are all present in court on Wednesday. The latter two made several critical statements against Bakke, who responded by suing Hansen.

Prosecutor Henrik Nicolaisen Kveine showed the e-mail during his introduction on Wednesday:

– This is the e-mail Erland Bakke is accused of having changed. He is said to have taken an e-mail from her, changed the date and content, Kveine said.

– This case will not be about whether he has written the e-mail in her name or not. He admits to having done so. What the court must ask is why he did it, said Bakke’s defender Jan Erik Teigum.

Bakke opened his explanation by saying that he never changed the e-mail so that it would be used in court. Even though he changed the e-mail, it reproduced the content of a conversation he and Olufsen should have had, Bakke explained.

– It was an email I had received from her, where I changed the date and added the lines from the conversation I had with her. It was idiotic. I should say, “This is what we’re talking about.”

In court, a written dialogue was presented between Bakke and Olufsen in the relevant period. Olufsen does not mention anything about her wanting to cancel the collaboration because of Mads Hansen, which was the message Bakke put in the email.

Bakke responded by saying that she conveyed this in an oral telephone conversation between the written dialogue.

– She said explicitly what was in the email, the prosecutor asked.

– That’s how I perceived it, yes, Bakke replied.

Olufsen is the first to testify in the trial on Wednesday, and will be present via video link. There she will give her view on whether such a conversation as Bakke mentions, took place.

To VG, she says the following before the trial begins:

– I will say that I did not make that e-mail.

– Did you write or send it?

– No and no, she answers.

– And I’m glad I can contribute. What he has done is not right, and it’s not funny that my name has been used that way. I’m glad he’s actually charged.

VG has submitted the statements to Bakke on Wednesday morning. To The online newspaper he says the following about the case:

– It is sad that Amalie Olufsen was involved in this case. I sincerely apologize to her. The email and her really have nothing to do with the original case. It was completely insignificant, Bakke writes in an SMS to Nettavisen.

– As I have written to her before, I wish her all the best with her career ahead.

Bakke has previously told VG that he do not recognize themselves in Olufsen’s production.

Mads Hansen has the status of offended in the case and will on Thursday bring a claim for compensation for what he says is legal expenses of almost 200,000 kronerwhich followed from Bakke’s lawsuit.

John Christian Elden, who was Bakke’s lawyer in connection with the lawsuit, is also listed as a witness in the statement of evidence. He submitted the conciliation complaint to the conciliation council on behalf of Bakke.

There was the e-mail OIufsen says she has never sent, attached as documentation. Elden is no longer Bakke’s lawyer in the case.

Bakke explained that the purpose of changing the email was to «persuade [Elden] to send a settlement complaint “, something Elden at the time advised him against, because he considered the possibility of winning as a child.

In court, Bakke said that the law firm Elden forwarded the e-mail to the court – without him knowing about it.

Elden has explained himself in questioning to the police about the case, but will not testify in court on Wednesday due to the duty of confidentiality lawyers have.

The prosecutor will read out the interrogation of Elden, but the court has decided that it will take place behind closed doors.

Mads Hansen, who is mentioned in this case, is associated Max Social, which is a wholly owned profile agency in VGTV AS. VG’s editorial assessments are made independently of this. The editorial staff is free. An overview of bindings for profiles that do assignments for VG is available her.

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