This is stated by police attorney Christian Stenberg in the Oslo police district to TV 2.
The police opened the investigation in November by order of the Oslo Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation will clarify whether fraud or other offenses have been committed in connection with the commuter apartment scheme in the Storting.
Investigating ten years back
The first two months of the investigation have been spent examining the Storting’s formal regulations related to commuter housing.
– In addition, it is important to find out how the regulations are practiced. It is in this connection that we have interviewed a number of employees in the administration, says police attorney Stenberg.
– It’s been two months since the police opened an investigation. How complicated are these regulations to get acquainted with?
– The period we have needed to investigate is about ten years back in time. Then it has been necessary to find changes, reasons for changes and documentation related to the work that has been done, says Stenberg.
The reason why the police look back ten years in time is that the limitation period for any offenses that may have been committed is exactly ten years.
Six police officers on the case
Stenberg states that a total of six police officers work with the case to varying degrees.
– But it’s like that with police work that if you send an order and it takes some time, it sounds like you are not very efficient. It is not the case that everyone works full time with the case, he says.
– It has been a lot for the Storting to look for and a lot for the police to sort and digest. That is what has taken time.
– IN THE INTRODUCTORY PHASE: The police in Oslo have spent two months getting acquainted with the Storting’s regulations. Photo: Kristin Grønning / TV 2
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Stenberg does not want to say anything about the time horizon the police are working on.
– We have been asked to prioritize the case. There are important societal functions, so what I can say is that it is important to get some clarification as soon as possible, he says.
Six named representatives
Shortly after the investigation became known, former President of the Storting Eva Kristin Hansen resigned.
She was then already under pressure to get a commuter home while she managed a home in Ski with her husband in the period 2014 to 2017.
– IN BRIEF: Eva Kristin Hansen (Labor Party) was elected President of the Storting on 9 October last year. A month later, she withdrew when Adresseavisen revealed that she had a commuter apartment even though she lived with her husband 29 kilometers from the Storting. Photo: Tom Rune Orset / TV 2
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Hansen has since said that she has followed the rules to the letter and has sought legal assistance to clean up.
Several other parliamentary representatives have been accused of having received commuter housing without being entitled to it.
When the police opened an investigation, they pointed out that at least six named members of the Storting may have mismanaged the regulations.
In retrospect, the Storting has also tightened the rules and introduced documentation requirements for commuter homes.
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