The so-called garbage queen, Bella Nilsson, who hardly wanted to say anything during the trial, now chooses to break the silence and give her view of what happened in the garbage scandal.
– For four years I have not said anything because I have perceived the investigation team as very biased, says former CEO Bella Nilsson.
Think Pink’s former CEO Bella Nilsson, or Fariba Vancor as she is now called, had a lot on her mind when she spoke in court for the first time on Wednesday. The questioning with her continued the next whole day.
– For four years, I have not wanted to talk to the investigation team. For four years I have not said anything because I have perceived the investigation team as very biased, says Fariba Vancor during the trial.
She gave long, detailed, and sometimes rather messy explanations about how operations looked at the waste company.
Several times she came back to the fact that she trusted consultants and others in the company and did not keep track of everything that was done herself.
– During the meeting, I gained great respect for his knowledge. I felt that he has the cutting edge skills that I don’t have. A man who has worked 30 years in the industry. Then he got a power of attorney. I signed that power of attorney and sent it to all my companies, she says.
Waiting for Brexit
The former CEO maintained that the intention had always been to take care of the waste. She would, for example, sell the material packed in bales to a heating plant. She just wanted to wait for Brexit when the garbage would rise in value.
– It is, of course, a risk-taking. It’s more wishful thinking than a real plan as I see it. I don’t think that’s enough as a defense, says Anders Gustafsson, prosecutor at the Ecocrime Agency.
“Understand that waste is not beautiful”
The Garbage Queen also had a message for all the residents next to the facilities who over the years have complained and worried about the growing mountains of garbage.
– I can understand that waste is dusty and gray and not beautiful. It’s just like airports. We want to go to Spain, but nobody wants an airport near their home. But you want to go to Spain. Waste is not pretty, but someone has to take care of it. And that’s exactly what we did.
TV4 News story
The environmental crime investigation into Think Pink is Sweden’s largest. Now it is depicted how the company’s CEO Bella Nilsson went from sex club manager to “Queen of trash”.