Inside the Trustor Scandal

I'm trying to look like a professional here.

-I understand. Nice and neat. - Yes. Thank you.

What do you do for work?

Well, I am, uh…

I used to…

I used to…

I used to work… in finance.

I acquired companies from the stock market.

Hmm!

But over the last 30 years, I've been, uh…

I've been on the run.

-In hiding. - In hiding?

Yes. Interpol and everything.

He has been in hiding for 30 years.

The man alleged to be behind one of Sweden's largest financial crimes

in what came to be known as the Trustor affair.

The man behind the suspected fraud is a 33-year-old man from Stockholm.

The main perpetrator in the Trustor affair is Joachim Posener.

Joachim Posener, the man suspected of being the brains behind the operation.

Joachim Posener is wanted by Interpol.

Rumor has it that he got away with 100 million,

had plastic surgery,

and has been in hiding in all corners of the world.

THE TRUSTOR SCANDAL THAT'S WHERE THE FRAUD'S HIDING

Police have a new lead regarding his whereabouts.

HIS SIGNS OF LIFE

There was talk about Moscow,

Tel Aviv, Rio de Janeiro,

Barbados, Iraq and a myriad of other countries.

EXPRESSEN FOUND THE SUSPECT'S HOME IN ISRAEL

A reward was offered for any information that could lead to an arrest.

INTENSE HUNT FOR POSENER AFTER NEW TIPS

Police received tips of all kinds.

NATIONAL POLICE BOARD

THE WANTED JOACHIM POSENER

Some said that he had a ponytail, very large feet,

spoke with a Scanian accent,

drank Pepsi,

and that he was hiding in the Big Brother house.

But Joachim Posener was never found.

The story goes that in 1997, he and four other people

managed to buy the investment company Trustor…

using Trustor's own money.

This is unprecedented in the history of the Swedish stock exchange.

Somehow, hundreds of millions of Trustor's funds

have been traced to bank accounts all across the world.

One of the biggest financial frauds in Swedish history.

But how did the whole affair come to be?

Who did what?

And how did life turn out for those who were involved?

INSIDE THE TRUSTOR SCANDAL

A FILM BY KARIN AF KLINTBERG

I had no idea what a damn mess this company takeover would be

when I first got involved.

This "damn mess" has been under investigation for years.

Yet what actually happened still remains unclear,

with everyone involved having their own side of the story.

To bring some clarity,

I reached out to those who were involved in one way or another.

One of them is the consultant, Thomas Jisander.

The guy parking his Ferrari.

Now, looking back in hindsight,

you might think that I should have known

what was actually going to happen with this affair.

CONSULTANT, TRUSTOR, 1997

But I didn't.

I also met with the vice president,

who is still affected to this day.

Something broke in my brain.

I've barely slept since 1997, to be honest.

DEPUTY CEO, TRUSTOR, 1997

As well as the investigative reporter.

I felt in my gut that something wasn't right.

And the police officer that hunted down Joachim Posener.

FORMER CHIEF FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT

It haunts me so much that we didn't catch the main suspect

behind the Trustor affair.

Shit…

And lastly, the seasoned financier who tried to clean up the mess.

It's one thing to be tough in business.

FINANCIER

But when it comes to criminals, I have no qualms.

And then there's Joachim Posener,

whom neither the police nor Interpol managed to find in those 30 years.

His side of the story has never been told.

PICTURED AS HE USED TO LOOK

Whether it was worth the price of leaving his family and children behind

to live in hiding.

After an extensive search, I managed

to obtain the email address of the missing Joachim Posener.

REGARDS, KARIN AF KLINTBERG

SORRY TO NAG…

THIRD TIME LUCKY…

And when I expressed that I was only looking for the truth…

IT'S DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE WHO'S TELLING THE TRUTH

…he finally replied.

INBOX

ARLANDA TERMINAL 5

I got your email and read it.

And… okay.

I'll agree to schedule a meeting with you somewhere in Europe.

What are the terms for this meeting?

I still want the option to back out.

How will I know it's you when I see you?

You'll recognize this voice.

And even though it's been 30 years,

I don't look that different.

BRUSSELS

The first meeting was set in a public place,

where Joachim Posener could watch us from a distance.

The agreement was that we were only allowed to film him from behind.

No one knows what he looks like these days…

Bonjour.

Hello, I'm Joachim.

There are very few official photos of Joachim Posener.

Which makes sense for someone who does not want to be found.

While on the run, he has given a single TV interview,

but since he was actively wanted by the police at the time,

he didn't wanna show his face,

and he lied his way through the entire interview.

People claim you're the mastermind behind the Trustor affair. Were you?

No, absolutely not.

I had nothing to do with any of this.

Uh, I entered the picture in… in August.

Before that, I…

You've never really explained to me what happened.

Why are you deciding to do it now?

We're now past the statute of limitations.

There's no reason to stay silent anymore.

Will you tell the truth in our interviews?

-Will you tell the truth? - I… I definitely won't lie.

- About anything? - No.

But you'll have to ask the right questions.

The people involved had their own reasons

for getting involved in the deal.

To me, it was about making money,

and feeling like I was a success.

Money gives you a kind of freedom,

and it's a confirmation of whether you're successful or not.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by big yachts and nice cars.

Excuse me!

Eighty! Eight zero, right?

What is the model?

I dreamt of becoming very rich.

To charter a yacht after a successful deal,

sit on top of an ACTA deck with a drink in hand

and feel like I did a really good job.

I wanted to make money and feel like I deserved that childhood dream.

My dream was to get into the finance world.

I was obsessed by it.

I used to sell business systems.

Wherever I worked, I was usually the best salesman.

But what I really wanted was to be the boss.

Which was a crazy goal,

because it turns out that I am not a very good boss.

Back in the day, when you had a "yacht",

it had to be at least 100 to 115 feet.

That was the limit for it to be considered as a yacht.

How long is this one?

27?

These days, standards are a bit higher.

Now, I'd definitely not call it a yacht if it's not at least 165 feet.

Otherwise, you definitely can't call it a yacht.

No one remembers a coward.

Joachim Posener had other motives for the deal.

After our first meeting with Joachim Posener,

we were allowed to continue meeting in various locations across Europe.

Ahem.

Yup.

You managed to get me here.

I was not allowed to film his face.

At least, not at first.

He has one rule.

No questions about his family.

It is a rule I'll come to bend eventually.

I still control every little detail of my life.

It becomes a… habit,

when you live life on the run.

If you want to avoid being found,

you've gotta be bland, uninteresting, and invisible.

You've got to disappear in the crowd, blend in with everyone else.

You can't attract anyone's attention.

While on the run from the police, I lived a bit like a secret agent.

I sacrificed my family and my life for freedom.

Not for the money.

Have you visited Sweden in the last 30 years?

Not even once.

Why didn't you return home?

I couldn't bring myself to serve a maximum sentence in prison again.

I barely got through the last sentence I served.

"The last sentence" refers to the last prison sentence

that Joachim Posener served before the Trustor affair.

In the late 1980s,

at the height of the financial boom,

22-year-old Joachim Posener had already begun

trading stocks and options,

and selling creative tax solutions.

At first, things went well.

He was making millions.

I wanted respect from people in the financial world,