A captain of one of Viking Line's Åland ferries has been convicted of bribery after inviting two ship inspectors from the Swedish Transport Agency to an à la carte dinner on board.

The inspectors have both been convicted and lost their jobs.

The dinners took place in 2017 on the ferry Cinderella and were worth 450 kronor each, writes Dagens Juridik on the recent appeals court rulings against the three men.

Exactly what was eaten is not known, but the three-course à la carte menu at Cinderella, which currently costs 470 kronor, includes lobster as a starter, butter-fried halibut or beef fillet as a main course, and a milk chocolate and almond ”bavaroise” (a kind of pudding) as dessert.

The commander is convicted of giving a bribe, and the two inspectors of taking a bribe. The latter two have also lost their jobs.

In their defense, the inspectors argued, among other things, that they did not exercise any authority, carry out any inspection, or issue any reports. However, the District Court found in its judgment, which has now been upheld by the Court of Appeal, that they had indeed carried out an inspection.

The commander said he was offering dinner for ”collaborative discussions” and so that the inspectors wouldn’t have to go hungry.

The inspectors were sentenced to 50 daily fines each in the district court, but will escape fines in the appeals court ruling, partly because they lost their jobs.

The commander is sentenced to 30 daily fines of 150 kronor each in the Court of Appeal, equivalent to 4,500 kronor or ten à la carte dinners at the old price.

Source: di.se