Economics

VIDEO: Iceland's ex-PM tells court he is innocent

A former prime minister of Iceland on Monday rejected charges he failed to adequately protect his country's economy from financial shocks, as he took the stand in the first criminal trial of a world leader to result from the 2008 financial crisis.

06.03.2012

(AP) A former prime minister of Iceland on Monday rejected charges he failed to adequately protect his country's economy from financial shocks, as he took the stand in the first criminal trial of a world leader to result from the 2008 financial crisis.

Geir Haarde said neither he nor financial regulators knew the real state of Icelandic banks' precarious finances until they collapsed in October 2008.