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Comment by chvid | Hacker News Reader

One would think that Iceland would have learn to reign in their financial sector after 2008. But hey, maybe they just like it like that up there ...

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This decision has nothing to do with the financial sector in Iceland. It is the government that has allegedly failed to implement some required changes, specifically it is some software that some government agency is supposed to be running already.

Speaking generally, money laundering is probably good for small, cash-poor countries. Probably not much motivation to stop it besides, well, things like the topic of this article.

As 2008 demonstrated so painfully. Iceland is extremely vunerable to misconduct in its financial sector.

A population of just 350,000 people; a free floating currency, outside the EU. Main industries are fishing and a tourist boom driven by a single TV show.

How big is the Icelandic financial sector? Compromising Ministry of finance, the central bank and the private banks. A thousand people? How do you have proper checks and balances in an environment like that? How do you prevent nepotism or outright corruption?

Native Icelander here, short answer you don't.

Iceland is a mess in many many ways that never reach the international media.

Nepotism is rampant (it's very hard to have anyone vaguely related up the genealogical tree somehow)

Foreigners are extorted and mistreated as a rule of thumb

The cost of living is high and the government does little to alleviate this burden on most of the tax base.

For me it's extremely heartbreaking to see all the ridiculous posts of foreigners on reddit asking how they can move here not understanding what they'll be committing to.

Thanks for writing. The story of icelandic corruption is really not coming out, not even in other scandinavian countries (where I am). I would hope the nordic countries would be allies in turning Iceland around, but I guess they can't do much unilaterally.

"I'm part of political group X, this is how I see my country, and in particular I dislike the successful business people in my country."

> Nepotism is rampant

Where? It's just not true that relatives are getting jobs unfairly that they may not have the skills to do. I don't think you understand what nepotism is. I do think that you don't understand what networking looks like among smart people that have a high general factor of personality, and I think that this is your way of striking back at what you see is an unfair advantage among people that network well.

> Foreigners are extorted and mistreated as a rule of thumb

If there's a tiny perceived wronging by a foreigner, the press is ready to blow it completely out of proportion and completely misrepresent companies who in the end decide to let it go instead of suing the press, for risk of looking even more like the bad guys in the eyes of people like you. Again, I think you've taken a headline or a TV piece out at face value and formed an unfair opinion on innocent business leaders.

> How do you prevent nepotism

Why prevent nepotism when everybody is a cousin?

There is a difference between hiring someone related to you vs. hiring someone related who is incompetent over someone else who is competent.

Okay, as a layman, can you clarify a scenario where (even huge-scale) money laundering would pose a similar threat to the stability of the Icelandic banking system as the misbehaviour of banks on an international level leading up to 2008?

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