The trial of a Norwegian national accused of orchestrating a contract killing on British soil has ended in a hung jury, casting doubt on the robustness of the UK’s extradition arrangements with Nordic states. The defendant, 41-year-old Anders Viklund, faced charges of conspiracy to murder after allegedly hiring a hitman to kill a London-based businessman in a dispute over cryptocurrency investments. After five weeks of evidence at the Old Bailey, the jury failed to reach a verdict following 40 hours of deliberation.
The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed it will seek a retrial, though legal experts question whether Viklund, who has consistently maintained his innocence, can be successfully retried given the complications of cross-border evidence gathering. The case has reignited debate over the UK’s bilateral extradition treaty with Norway, signed in 2012, which critics argue lacks the procedural safeguards of EU-wide arrangements. Viklund’s defence team argued that key witnesses, including a Norwegian police officer, were never called, and that digital evidence was mishandled.
The hung jury comes amid broader scrutiny of the UK’s extradition mechanisms since Brexit, with the Home Office reviewing 15 similar cases involving Nordic citizens. A spokesperson for the Norwegian embassy in London declined to comment pending the retrial. The verdict is seen as a test of post-Brexit judicial cooperation, with implications for how Britain handles transnational organised crime.
