Post date: Apr 23, 2012 6:4:26 PM
An Icelandic court found former prime minister, Geir Haarde guilty of one charge related to the collapse of the country's banks in 2008 but exonerated him on three other charges and decided not to punish him.
ICELAND-PM VERDICT - Relief for the former Icelandic prime minister.
Geir Haarde is the only politician in the world to stand trial in connection with the 2008 financial crisis.
He was cleared of three charges of failing to rein in the country's banking sector before it imploded.
The only guilty charge related to failing to hold dedicated cabinet meetings ahead of the crisis, and for that Haarde was given no punishment.
FORMER ICELANDIC PRIME MINISTER, GEIR HAARDE, SAYING:
"I can tell you that I have always found this charge to be even more ridiculous than the others. I still hold that view. It is therefore my opinion that the court has made the grave mistake in reaching this conclusion, and I am therefore seriously considering whether to take this matter further to the European Court of Human Rights."
Iceland's biggest banks were all taken over by the state in 2008 after the credit crunch sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers threw the country into economic turmoil.
Three of its main banks collapsed and the country went bankrupt.
Many fear the verdict will do little to heal the wounds of the meltdown.
And there is growing anger in Iceland that none of the men in charge of the banks that collapsed have been tried.
Iceland's economy is recovering from the crisis and the government has successfully completed a bailout programme led by the IMF.
But polls show that parliament only has the support of 10 percent of the public.
Ciara Sutton, Reuters