Iceland’s richest man spied on Icelandic citizens in 2012 + tourist held hostage & more.

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.
The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:

✨ On Wednesday RÚV reported that Iceland’s richest man, Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, had hired police officers to carry out covert surveillance on a group of citizens who had filed a lawsuit against him. The operation reportedly cost tens of millions of krónur and involved three officers — two retired, one still on active duty at the time. We discuss this story and the fact that one of the former police officers, Jón Óttar Ólafsson, had also been subsequently been paid by rich Icelanders for various other tasks, including surveillance of journalists.
✨ We discuss a story about a tourist that was held hostage in Reykjavík on May Day.
✨ A Starbucks is set to be opened in Reykjavík later this summer.
✨ & a tourist was sexually harassed at the Blue Lagoon on Saturday.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHOW SUPPORT
Support The Reykjavík Grapevine's reporting by becoming a subscriber at https://www.grapevine.is/subscribe - We are also a printed magazine. You can subscribe to that too.
You can also support The Reykjavík Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHO ARE WE?
The Reykjavík Grapevine is an alternative monthly magazine published in Iceland since 2003. We bringing you the news and views on Icelandic culture and society, sprinkled with music coverage, travel content, restaurant reviews and more. More on https://www.grapevine.is
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------