The investment company Trustor was robbed of hundreds of millions of kronor in 1997. Joachim Posener was identified as the mastermind behind the scheme, but he remained hidden abroad until the crimes became statute-barred and has never been convicted of involvement.
Apart from a controversial interview and a book he wrote in 2004, Posener has kept a low profile, posing a challenge for actor Adam Lundgren.
But from his book I got the impression of someone who wants to achieve success at all costs to show that he is somebody. Then I had something to take on, he says.
I also noticed that he seemed to care a lot about his child, that the relationship was real.
“Struck by the extravagance”
Adam Lundgren's interest was piqued ten years ago when he listened to a radio documentary about the Trustor affair. At that time, it was Posener's partner and cousin Thomas Jisander who attracted him.
He's taken every opportunity to talk about this, sometimes without anyone even asking him. I was struck by these crazy characters, the extravagance and the absurd partying.
The series is based on the book "Svindlande affärer" by journalist Gunnar Lindstedt, who first uncovered the corporate looting. Director Ivica Zubak draws parallels with the Jönsson League, "Ocean's Eleven" and "The Wolf of Wall Street". He wanted to make the series fast-paced and fun - without glorifying crime.
"You have to tell what these guys have done and how they have lived. It's a fucking party, but it slowly becomes clear that the party has to be paid for," he says.
Many anecdotes
Adam Lundgren has encountered many people with their own anecdotes about the main characters involved in the affair.
Every single person you talk to about this knows someone who knows someone who has partied or been with one of them. You talk about six degrees of separation, but you are always at most three steps from the Trustor gang.
Twenty years after Trustor, the scandal surrounding the pension company Allra exploded. CEO Alexander Ernstberger, who some say is greed personified, has published a book after serving his sentence and has become an idol for young men in search of wealth.
The Trustor gang also continues to arouse both disgust and fascination. Adam Lundgren wants to leave viewers in ambivalence.
As an actor, you always want to portray some kind of person. So I hope the audience can sit and feel for these people - and hate themselves for doing so.
Facts: The Trustor Affair
In May 1997, British nobleman Lord Moyne bought a majority stake in the investment company Trustor. That same autumn, it was revealed that the payment for the shares, made retrospectively, came from the company's own coffers.
Vice President Joachim Posener, who had transferred over 620 million kronor to an account in London without formal authorization, went underground when the affair became known and has never been convicted of involvement.
Peter Mattsson and Thomas Jisander were convicted in the district court but acquitted in April 2002 by the Svea Court of Appeal.
Lord Moyne, who was allegedly used as a gatekeeper to give legitimacy to the deal, was cleared of all suspicion.
Jisander was later sentenced to prison for instigating the gross embezzlement of around 20 million kronor that was transferred from Trustor to accounts in Liechtenstein.
Journalist Gunnar Lindstedt was awarded the Great Journalist Prize in 1998 for his revelations about the Trustor affair.
