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Olof K Gustavsson’s expected long sentence of 2,050 years may be shortened to less than three years, writes Aftonbladet. In a settlement with the American authorities, the Swedish businessman has agreed to admit to five of the 150 crimes he is suspected of.
Olof K Gustafsson is accused of having conducted fraud on a global scale in the name of drug lord Pablo Escobar. He is charged with 150 counts of money laundering, fraud and “financial transactions with funds derived from illegal activities”. According to Olof K Gustavsson himself, his crimes could lead to 2,050 years in a US prison. Now, the California prosecutor’s office says that a plea deal the suspect has agreed to could significantly reduce his sentence.
“Today, Olof Kyros Gustafsson signed a plea agreement (a written promise to plead guilty) with prosecutors from the US government,” a press contact at the authority wrote to Aftonbladet. The authority also writes that it does not intend to seek a longer sentence than 33 months if Gustavsson, who has previously denied the crime, confesses. In the plea agreement, Olof K Gustavsson also agreed to renounce his permanent residence permit in the US and to be extradited to France.
Trial postponed
Gustafsson is best known for running the company Escobar Inc, together with Roberto Escobar, brother of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, where he has, among other things, tried to sell flamethrowers, phones and cryptocurrency in Escobar’s name – which were never delivered. The products never even existed, prosecutors claim. According to the indictment, Olof K Gustafsson was the CEO of Escobar Inc, a company registered in Puerto Rico that claims to own the rights to the late Escobar’s name. After the trial, which was supposed to begin at the end of May, was postponed, it is now expected to begin on July 18.