Nils Mulvad

What is the cost of security companies such as G4S? One way of calculating the harm is counting the dead and injured. Around the globe, G4S has been in the spotlight regarding its sometimes controversial involvement in conflict zones, its prison operations and its treatment of employees. Photo by Lars Schmidt / Creative CommonsAttribution 3.0

“The protest ended with a couple of people getting shot and many more injured by security guards using a baton. Some were hit in the head, some in the hand. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Investigations

Romanian firefighters unload a first batch of 30 ventilators from rescEU – the common European reserve of medical equipment set up earlier this year to help countries affected by the coronavirus pandemic, at the Hospital in Bulovka. EC – Audiovisual Service, photographer  Michal Cizek

If truth is the first casualty in war, transparency was lost first in the fight against Covid-19, closely followed by lack of control and oversight. In the very first contract for protection equipment paid for by the EU budget, the Commission in April signed a contract with the German company Asanus Medizintechnic GmbH worth 29 million euros for 10 million masks. When the first batch arrived in May tests in four member states showed the masks did not comply with the contract. They were non-homogenous, only partially passed the filter test, and fell below the norm for a fit-for-purpose test. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Investigations

In 2004, two Danish businessmen, Lars Nørby Johansen and Jørgen Philip-Sørensen, were the main forces behind the establishment of the world’s largest security company, G4S. Just a year later, both disappeared from the company in a vague way. G4S still praises itself for its Danish roots, but around the world, the giant is nowadays better known for mismanagement – murder, torture, surveillance and other human rights violations, which are traditionally not associated with Denmark, the Danish business community, or the region Scandinavia. G4S’s shabby human rights record recently led to the divestment of crucial Danish and Norwegian G4S shareholders. G4S is still listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, which begs the question: how Danish is G4S really? Continue Reading →

Filed under: Investigations

“I observed a group of about 12 soldiers arriving on foot along the road. I could not identify to which party they belonged. They were wearing either camouflage uniforms or one colored khaki uniform. Some wore hats or caps but I can not give more specific description. They took position lying behind the wall along the road and facing the school. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Investigations

To danske erhvervsfolk, Lars Nørby Johansen og Jørgen Philip-Sørensen, var hovedkræfterne bag den storstilede oprettelse af verdens største sikringsfirma, G4S, i 2004. Men blot et år efter forsvandt begge fra selskabet på meget uklar vis. G4S roser stadig sig selv for sine danske rødder, men rundt om i verden er giganten i dag anklaget for drab, tortur, overvågning og andre overtrædelse af menneskerettigheder, som man ikke forbinder med Danmark og dansk erhvervsliv, og som har fået danske og norske investorer til at trække sig. Oprettelsen af G4S skete efter et ultra-hæsblæsende forløb med de to meget forskellige mænd i spidsen.

Lars Nørby Johansen opfattes i Danmark som en af bannerførerne for moderne ledelse, corporate governance, og har givet navn til et udvalg om virksomhedsledelse, Nørby-udvalget, der kom med sine anbefalinger i 2001. Han stod i spidsen for Falck i en lang række af opkøb og aktie-udvekslinger frem til etableringen af G4S, og han blev på det tidspunkt vurderet som en af de allermest indflydelsesrige erhvervsfolk i Danmark. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Investigations