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Thousands Protest In Iceland After Prime Minister Refuses To Step Down

An online petition demanding Gunnlaugsson's resignation has amassed more than 28,000 signatures.
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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Thousands of Icelanders are demanding Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson's immediate resignation after damning revelations came to light in the Panama Papers controversy.
Stigtryggur Johannsson/Reuters

Hordes of protesters swarmed Iceland's Parliament on Monday to demand that Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson and his government immediately step down and hold early general elections. 

Documents leaked in the massive Panama Papers controversy reveal that in 2007, Gunnlaugsson and his wife purchased an offshore company that owned bonds in three Icelandic banks that collapsed during the nation's financial crisis the following year. 

Gunnlaugsson's finance minister and interior minister also had stakes in offshore companies, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which leaked the documents on Sunday. Gunnlaugsson's failure to disclose these assets since he joined Parliament in 2009 constitutes a violation of Iceland's ethics rules, the ICIJ claims.

Icelanders' political disgruntlement was already high amid other allegations of corruption before news of the Panama Papers broke. According to an opinion poll conducted earlier this year, nearly 70 percent did not support the current coalition government.

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An online petition has amassed more than 28,000 signatures calling for the government to step down.
Stigtryggur Johannsson/Reuters

As of Monday afternoon, an online petition demanding Gunnlaugsson's resignation had more than 28,000 signatures. Iceland's population is approximately 330,000. Opposition parties have called for a no confidence vote to be held later in the week.

In a televised interview, the prime minister defended his innocence and rejected calls for his resignation, saying he will "let the voters judge the work of the government." He also apologized for storming out of the room after he was confronted about the scandal during another recent interview.

It is not yet clear how many protesters gathered outside Iceland's Parliament on Monday, but more than 10,000 people confirmed their attendance on a public Facebook event before the demonstrations. Many people used social media to voice their outrage and share images from the protests.

Related:

What You Need To Know About The Panama Papers Leak

Süddeutsche Zeitung: About the Panama Papers

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Before You Go

World Leaders Connected To The Panama Papers
Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnalaugsson(01 of12)
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Gunnlaugsson and his wife were creditors to three major Icelandic banks that failed during the 2008 financial collapse through their company, Wintris Inc. Gunnlaugsson did not declare his ownership of Wintris when he entered parliament in 2009. (credit:REUTERS/Bertil Enevag Ericson/Scanpix/Files)
Associates Of Russian President Vladimir Putin(02 of12)
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While Putin was not directly named in the Panama Papers, many of his associates and friends were linked to offshore companies named in the document leak. (credit:Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/Reuters)
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan(03 of12)
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Sheikh Khalifa had interests in at least 30 British Virgin Islands companies, which were used to purchase and hold luxury real estate in London worth at least $1.7 billion. (credit:Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)
Cousins of Syrian President Bashar Assad(04 of12)
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Assad's first cousins, Rami and Hafez Makhlouf, held shares in oil and telecoms companies through offshore companies. U.S. diplomatic cables described Rami Makhlouf as Syria's “poster boy for corruption.” The U.S. blacklisted Hafez Makhlouf in 2007 and imposed sanctions on Rami Makhlouf in 2008. (credit:REUTERS/SANA/Handout)
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi(05 of12)
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Allawi was listed as the sole director and shareholder of multiple offshore companies, some of which held properties on Allawi's behalf. The former prime minister's media office confirmed that he had interests in those companies. (credit:Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters)
Father of UK Prime Minister David Cameron(06 of12)
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Ian Cameron, the late father of David Cameron, managed millions of dollars in an offshore investment fund that avoided paying U.K. taxes. (credit:REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)
Saudi Arabian King Salman(07 of12)
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King Salman appeared to have unspecified interests in multiple British Virgin Islands companies that took out several mortgages on luxury houses in London. He was also named the "principal user" of a yacht that was registered by a BVI company. (credit:Bandar al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Court/Handout/Reuters)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko(08 of12)
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Poroshenko set up an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands in 2014. The Ukrainian president, a self-made tycoon who had businesses in the confectionary, construction and media industries, had once vowed to crack down on corruption. On April 4, Poroshenko tweeted that he "treats declaring of assets, paying taxes, conflict of interest issues seriously" and that he had stopped actively managing his assets since becoming president. (credit:Francois Lenoir/Reuters)
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko(09 of12)
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Lazarenko, who had been convicted of money laundering and conspiracy in the past, had interests in British Virgin Islands-based companies embroiled in multiple corruption investigations. U.S. authorities are still seeking $250 million from Lazarenko's offshore accounts. (credit:Kimberly White/Reuters)
Children of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif(10 of12)
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Three of Sharif's children had interests in several British Virgin Islands companies, which owned properties in the U.K. that were reportedly for use by the Sharif family. (credit:Stephane Mahe/Reuters)
Former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani(11 of12)
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Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani owned several companies based in the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Panama. He used the companies to hold shares and mooring spaces in Spain, to manage a yacht and to hold bank accounts. Some of the companies have since been dissolved. (credit:ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)
Son of Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan(12 of12)
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Kojo Annan, the son of Kofi Annan, acted as the sole director, joint shareholder and director of a Samoan company and two British Virgin Islands companies. Kojo Annan used his Samoan company, Sapphire Holding Ltd., to purchase a London apartment for more than $500,000. (credit:Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)
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