An Icelandic woman has confessed to stealing more than seven million ISK from the University of Iceland Lottery (Happdrætti Háskóla Íslands) while working there as a summer employee in 2023, reports Vísir. She has been sentenced to a 30-day suspended prison sentence and must repay the full amount, along with covering the legal costs of the case.
According to the district court ruling, the woman misappropriated money from the University of Iceland Lottery in two different ways.
During the period from June 12 to August 31, 2023, the woman withdrew cash stored in a safe at the workplace, to which she alone had access. She did this several times, taking just over two million ISK for her own use during that period.
The second period mentioned in the ruling is September 22-23, 2023. During that time, she transferred a total of five million ISK from the account of Húseignarinnar Steindórsprents ehf., a subsidiary of HHÍ, into her own bank account. She made three separate transfers: 500.000 ISK, another 500.000 ISK, and four million ISK.
Throughout this time she was employed as a summer employee at HHÍ. The case first came before the court on February 4, 2026, and the judgment was delivered on February 13.
According to the ruling, the defendant confessed fully to the charges. It also notes that she has been undergoing treatment and has been staying in a rehabilitation halfway house since the offenses were committed.
“The defendant has therefore stopped using substances and turned her life in a better direction, and this will be taken into account when determining the sentence. On the other hand, it cannot be overlooked that the defendant committed embezzlement involving a considerable sum,” the judgment states.
The court’s verdict requires the defendant to serve a 30-day sentence, suspended, and to repay more than seven million ISK to HHÍ with interest. She must also pay nearly 1.5 million ISK in legal and court costs.
Note: The Reykjavík Grapevine is broke. We need money. Recently we had to inform all of our journalists that we won’t be able to afford their work unless our fortunes change. It has been our purpose to bring journalism and cultural coverage of Iceland to the rest of the world for almost 24 years, and while business has always been difficult, it has become ever more so in the past few years, making it harder to fulfil our purpose. Any amount will help. More will help more. Donate here.
You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Also you can get regular news from Iceland — including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen — by signing up to our newsletter.
