Rear Admiral Atle Torbjørn Karlsvik (born 22 June 1957) is a Norwegian naval officer who is charged for fraud and dereliction of duty. The appointment of him to Rear Admiral has in itself been surrounded by controversy. Kristin Krohn Devold, who was Norway's defense minister at the time, has been accused of favouritism and conflict of interest, as she is considered a personal friend of Karlsvik.[1]
When the military discovered the possible overspending, they asked the police for help to investigate the claims. His indictment is based on travel expense reports where Karlsvik, according to investigators, charged the state for golfing holidays and vacations in warmer climates. The amount of money involved in the actual indictment is around NOK 63,000.
On 24 May 2007, Bergen District Court acquitted him.
The Ministry of Defence sued Karlsvik, and the case was settled in 2008 — by Karlsvik resigning from Norway's military and paying the Government Norwegian kroner 240 000 for tortious compensation, while receiving one year's pay (etterlønn) — Norwegian kroner 800 000.[2]