Archive post: »Mr. Danfoss… a whistleblower?« · 2022-09-09

• Anne Honoré Østergaard — Mentioned in the current archived text
• Jørgen Mads Clausen — Mentioned in the current archived text
• Mads Sanderman — Mentioned in the current archived text
• Michael Aastrup Jensen — Mentioned in a historical text version
• Morten Bødskov — Mentioned in a historical text version
• Peter Hansen — Mentioned in the current archived text

Source title: Mr. Danfoss… En whistleblower?

Text version dated 28 Jul 2023

Mr. Danfoss… en whistleblower? Det kunne være drejebogen til en Netflix-serie om korruption, intriger, politisk magtmisbrug og store penge - men det er faktisk blot øjebliksbilleder fra den virkelige verden i Sønderborg.

Læs her, hvad der sker, når de store hanner føler, at idyllen ved det lokale vandingshul bliver forstyrret. Kort sagt: hvordan jungleloven bruges til at opretholde den stærkestes ret. En dag i efteråret 2020 ringede telefonen hos en chef i den danske afdeling af Waterland, en af Europas største kapitalfonde.

Waterland ejer blandt andet telefonivirksomheden ipnordi c. En mand præsenterede som Jørgen Mads Clausen, chairman of the Board i Danfoss, en af verdens største virksomheder inden for deres felt. Han gjorde det klart, at det handlede om en whistleblower-henvendelse.

I første omgang troede den danske chef ikke helt på, at det var selveste Mr. Danfoss, der ringede, da en henvendelse af den type fra en toperhvervsleder normalt altid vil komme gennem en advokat. Jørgen Mads Clausen fik ham dog overbevist om sin identitet.

Når der blæses alarm i en større virksomhed, er der en helt fastlagt procedure, der skal følges. Den danske chef stoppede derfor straks Jørgen Mads Clausen og bad ham tage kontakt direkte til den eksterne specialafdeling, der håndterer whistleblower-henvendelser for koncernen. Ingen med relationer til den anklagede må være involverede i behandling af den type sager.

Da Mr. Danfoss landede i den rigtige afdeling, gik den helt store (og ekstremt omkostningstunge) maskine i gang. Alvorlige anklager mod ejeren Når chefen for en af Europas største industrikoncerner tager kontakt, så giver det taletid, og der bliver lyttet.

Mr. Danfoss havde en historie om ulovligheder, som foregik i Sønderborg området, og i hvilke Skansegårdens ejer og ipnordi c direktør ejeren, ifølge Mr. Danfoss, var en central person.

Henvendelsen blev selvfølgelig taget meget seriøst. Først og fremmest fordi en whistleblower er et drastisk tiltag. Men måske blev den taget endnu mere seriøst, da det var en meget magtfuld mand, der fremførte anklagerne mod en medarbejder i koncernen.

Derfor satte ejerens arbejdsgivere et af Danmarks mest anerkendte advokatfirmaer på opgaven. De undersøgte samtlige anklager, som Jørgen Mads Clausen havde fremsat. De gravede hele ejerens livshistorie igennem og vendte enhver sten for at finde snavs.

Absolut intet skulle overlades til tilfældighederne, nu hvor whistleblowerlinjen var blevet aktiveret. Sagt på godt jysk blev tingene meget ubehagelige for ejeren og sikkert også for hans arbejdsgiver. Men alt blev gennemført effektivt og professionelt.

Falske anklager og dumhed på dumhed Flere måneder senere landede den tunge rapport på bordet i direktionslokalet i Waterland. Den viste, at ingen af Jørgen Mads Clausens anklager var sande, og den frikendte ejeren helt. Samtidig konkluderede rapporten, at henvendelsen, set i bakspejlet, næppe kunne karakteriseres som en reel whistleblower alarm.

Jørgen Mads Clausen var bestemt heller ikke den mest oplagte whistleblower i denne sag. Han var ikke medarbejder i Waterland. Han havde ikke haft nogen erhvervsmæssige kontaktflader til ejeren, og han havde tydeligvis heller ikke på nogen måde researchet de anklager, han fremførte.

Men, hvor havde han så de luftige anklager fra? Man kunne tro, at det var Peter Hansen, der havde forfattet anklageskriftet. Det var nemlig de samme luftige anklager, som Venstrepolitikeren (og bestyrelsesformanden i JydskeVestkysten) havde fremsat tidligere.

Men hvorfor fremsætter en både garvet og utvivlsomt meget begavet topchef dårligt underbyggede anklager mod en lokal iværksætter? Har det haft betydning, at Jørgen Mads Clausen har været forretningspartner med Peter Hansen i flere selskaber (heriblandt også konkursramte)? Formålet med både Peter Hansens mange falske anklager og Jørgen Mads Clausens whistleblower ser ud til have været at miskreditere ejeren og lægge pres på blandt andet ejeren arbejdsgiver for at stoppe Facebooksiden Dybbøl Banke Skansegårdens afsløringer af Peter Hansen og hans venners tvivlsomme moral og økonomiske aktiviteter.

Det er let at se, hvorfor det var et stort ønske hos Peter Hansen, men hvorfor var det så vigtigt for Jørgen Mads Clausen? Clausen har, ud over sin markante position i dansk erhvervsliv, også royale titler som Kammerherre og Ridder af Dannebrog at leve op til. Det burde sikre en fast kurs på det moralske kompas.

Jørgen Mads Clausens virksomhed, Danfoss tjente i 2020 knap 5 milliarder kr., så han burde have råd til de bedste rådgivere, der kan købes for penge. Hvad var det, der fik ham personligt til at udføre noget, der ligner en vennetjeneste for Venstremanden og konkursrytteren Peter Hansen? Danfoss er naturligvis en af de virksomheder, der også har en whistleblower linje, så Clausen var fuldt ud klar over, hvilke konsekvenser det har at aktivere en sådan henvendelse, og hvor megen dokumentation det kræver af virksomheden, og hvor store omkostninger det medfører.

Mr. Danfoss afsløret af Peter Hansen Det kan også undre, at Jørgen Mads Clausen selv tog kontakt og gjorde det klart, at det handlede om en whistleblower-henvendelse. Den mest sandsynlige grund må være, at han mente, at det ville sikre ham 100 procent anonymitet.

Det ville det reelt set også have gjort, hvis ikke det var for endnu en dumhed - denne gang fra Peter Hansen. Det daværende byrådsmedlem fortsatte nemlig, gennem en lang mailkorrespondance, pressionen mod ejerens arbejdsgivere. I en af disse mails afslørede Peter Hansen selv Jørgen Mads Clausens navn og hans rolle i kontakten til whistleblower-linjen.

I øvrigt var Peter Hansen arrogant nok til at bruge sin officielle Sønderborg kommune mailkonto til pressionen. Det er grunden til, at vi dengang kunne fremlægge dokumentation for korrespondancen og nu kan fortælle denne historie. Tak Peter.

Eksempler på dygtigt PR-arbejde Kunne sagen have været håndteret mere smart? Ja givetvis, hvis ikke Clausen var gået solo. Danfoss har en af landet dygtigste presseafdelinger, som eksempelvis tæller tidligere rådgivere for ministre.

Danfoss Media Relations har dog næppe været med på råd og har heller ikke efterfølgende været ude med en kommentar til denne sag - til trods for at Clausen repræsenterede Danfoss koncernen i hans henvendelse til whistleblower-linjen. Danfoss Media Relations har ellers igennem tiden været yderst dygtige til at håndtere følsomme sager for den sønderjyske virksomhed. Et godt eksempel på et imponerende PR-arbejde er håndteringen af Himmark forureningen.

Himmark-forurening er kategoriseret som generationsforurening I 1950'erne og 1960'erne opstod der kraftig forurening på Himmark Strand, efter at affald fra Danfoss' produktion blev bortskaffet ved at grave det ned. Forureningen har bragt Danfoss ind på den lidet attraktive plads blandt Danmarks 10 største forurenere. Forureningen ved Himmark Strand på Als er nu officielt en generationsforurening.

Udtrykket gives til giftdepoter, hvor håndteringen vil koste mindst 50 millioner kroner, og hvor forureningen vil udgøre et problem i mange generationer fremover, hvis der ikke bliver gjort noget ved den. Region Syddanmark har indført badeforbud ved Himmark Strand efter fund af vinylklorid. Stoffet kan give en sjælden leverkræft.

Fordi stoffet er så giftigt, er den tilladte mængde sat til 0,05 mikrogram per liter. I en enkelt vandprøve udtaget i vandet under havbunden ved Himmark er der blevet fundet et indhold på 60.000 mikrogram af det kræftfremkaldende stof per liter. Ifølge Region Syddanmark kommer prisen for fjernelse af forureningen på Himmark Strand forventet til at ligge et sted mellem 133 millioner kroner og 172 millioner kroner.

Trods det, at denne forurening rangerer i top 10, er det forbløffende lidt, der er blevet skrevet om den i pressen. Det er lykkedes at sælge pressen en historie om, at da Danfoss gravede kemiaffald ned, var det ikke ulovligt - og at man faktisk vil give 25 millioner kroner som et supplement til de midler, som rensningen af Himmark Strand får tilført via finansloven. Danfoss har tidligere bidraget med cirka ti millioner kroner til en forundersøgelse, der skulle kortlægge problemets omfang.

Altså vil man hjælpe med noget, som man egentlig ikke er forpligtet til. Det er da flot, at Danfoss vil bidrage, men resten af regningen (mindst 100 millioner) havner altså ved skatteyderne. Til trods for, at beløbet blot ville være en brøkdel af Danfoss’ overskud bare i 2021.

Tænk engang over, hvor lidt du har hørt om Himmark forureningen - eksempelvis i sammenligning med, hvor meget du har hørt om Cheminova, Høfde 42 og Harboøre Tange. Dygtigt PR-arbejde. Da nogle journalister fra JydskeVestkysten forsøgte at grave i Himmark-sagen, blev de nægtet aktindsigt af Sønderborg Kommune.

Det ville normalt havde skabt mediestorm, men underligt nok skete det ikke. Fra kommunalt hold forsøgte man at mørkelægge referatet af et møde om forureningen mellem kommunen samt repræsentanter for Danfoss og regionen. Måske fordi et udviklingsselskab var langt fremme med planerne for ferieområdet Nordals Ferieresort.

I den forbindelse ville det være særdeles ubelejligt, hvis pressen begyndte at skrive om en kraftig forurening kun godt en kilometer fra ferieparadiset. Peter Hansen sad både i byrådet og i bestyrelsen hos JydskeVestkysten på det tidspunkt og gav opbakning til kommunaldirektøren, der havde forhindret aktindsigten. Russisk exit trak ud - uden nævneværdig shitstorm En anden sag Danfoss Media Relations har håndteret flot er den lidt tøvende exit fra Rusland.

Mens andre store danske virksomheder handlede hurtigt og kontant, reagerede Danfoss noget mere trægt. Den 24. februar sendte det russiske militær tanks og tropper ind over den ukrainske grænse, men først den 1. april, fem uger efter, offentliggjorde Danfoss beslutningen om at trække sig helt ud af Rusland. Den 15. juli meddelte virksomheden, at de havde indgået en aftale med den russiske ledelse om at sælge forretningen.

Inden det skete, dukkede der flere uheldige historier frem, eksempelvis om Danfoss’ leverancer af dele til den russiske krigsmaskine, et forhold som i dag undersøges af den danske stat for brud på internationale konventioner. Mens Danfoss nølede, var nogle danske virksomheder allerede ude, mens andre, som eksempelvis en skoproducent og en virksomhed, der fremstiller isoleringsmaterialer, var havnet i regulære shitstorms. Disse virksomheder har, så vidt vides, ikke leveret noget som helst til den russiske krigsmaskine.

Igen dygtigt PR-arbejde og et så godt forhold til store dele af pressen, at alle artikler tilsyneladende havde næsten samme ordlyd, som Danfoss’ egne pressemeddelelser. Peter Hansen som moralens vogter Vi ved godt, at denne overskrift virker ufrivillig komisk, men Peter Hansen, der, i en længere charmekampagne i eget medie, JydskeVestkysten, lancerede sig selv som lidt af en ukrainsk krigshelt, udtalte sig forarget om skoproducenten og isoleringsvirksomheden. Til gengæld nævnte han ikke vennerne fra Danfoss.

Skoproducenten mistede endog titlen som kongelig hofleverandør, men Kongehuset har åbenbart endnu ikke haft tid til at kigge på Danfoss’ og Kammerherre Jørgen Mads Clausens ageren. Samarbejdsrelationer og den nye adel Jørgen Mads Clausen og Peter Hansen har ejet virksomheder (og privatfly) sammen. Jørgen Mads Clausen har over for pressen forsikret, at han ikke trækker tab på disse fly fra i skat, selv om han kan.

Dog er der ingen, uderover skat, der kan se, om det er korrekt. Peter Hansen har til gengæld ladet skattevæsnet og dig som skatteyder betale for hans jet og lystyacht i form at flere konkurser, men det er en helt anden historie, vi tidligere har afdækket. Jørgen Mads Clausen fortalte i et interview med Berlingske, at han ser sig selv og andre toperhvervsfolk som nutidens adel og mener, at den position skal medføre særfordele.

Se præcist hvad han mener i artikellinket under artiklen. Flere tankevækkende paradokser Mens Jørn Mads Clausen ser sig selv som adelen, der bestemmer på Als, har Danfoss familien en anden del, som mere filantropisk forsøger at gøre Sønderborg til et attraktivt sted at bo og arbejde. Det sker gennem store byggeprojekter og samarbejder med kommunen om at trække nye indbyggere til byen.

Så mens den ene del af Danfoss familien investerer mange penge i at skabe vækst, udvikling og iværksætteri - forsøger den anden med alle midler at smide iværksættere ud af byen. Samtidig gør både ledelse og medarbejdere i Danfoss-koncernen en flot indsats for løbende at opdatere og vedligeholde et tidssvarende etisk kodeks - og fortjener stor respekt for det. Omfattende kampagne for at miskreditere iværksætter Whistleblower-alarmen blev aktiveret, samtidig med at en halv snes andre tiltag blev sat i værk.

Peter Hansen rejste, gennem Sønderjyllands Politi, flere sigtelser mod ejeren, som alle viste sig falske. Folketingsmedlemmet fra Venstre, Anne Honoré Østergaard stillede et §20 spørgsmål til skatteministeriet, som satte skatteministeriet i gang med at grave helt ekstraordinært i ejeren økonomi. Anne Honoré Østergaard har dog ikke udvist interesse for at undersøge Peter Hansens forretningshistorik, som ellers gemmer på mange spændende historier.

Målet var at hæmme den grundlovssikrede ytringsfrihed. JydskeVestkysten kørte helsides artikler med overskrifter som: Skattefusk – alt sammen bakket op af (deres egen bestyrelsesformand) Peter Hansens udtalelser. Chefredaktør på JydskeVestkysten Mads Sanderman har efter 50+ artikler om Skansegården gentagne gange forsikret, at han ikke er i lommen på Peter Hansen, men hvorfor har JV helt glemt dækningen af deres bestyrelsesformands mange konkurser og tvangslukninger?

Sønderborg Erhvervsklub blev også en del af kampagnen, og her viser mailkorrespondancen, at Peter Hansen var i stand til at kontrollere klubben, til trods for, at han ikke selv er medlem. Han afslørede nemlig, at han vidste, at klubben ville ekskludere ejeren, før det rent faktisk skete. Alt er et led i en omfattende angrebsstrategi.

Dyrt for alle - bortset fra Peter Hele denne historie, der startede med, at ejeren købte en ejendom, som en anden havde ønsket - har indtil videre kostet mange millioner i sagsomkostninger, juristaflønning, research og journalistisk arbejde. Størstedelen af den regning er havnet hos ejeren. Jørgen Mads Clausens whistleblower-undersøgelse fik ejerens arbejdsgivere lov til at betale for.

Til trods for at anklagerne viste sig falske, har sagen naturligvis givet ridser i lakken - og har ikke bidraget positivt til det målrettede fokus på at skabe arbejdspladser og resultater i Sønderborg kommune. Peter Hansen, manden der har orkestreret hele kampagnen, er den eneste, der i vanlig stil, holdes økonomisk skadefri. Han sørger altid for, at regningen for alt det han sætter i gang (politi, skattevæsnet, Sønderborg Kommunes embedsfolk og jurister m.fl.) havner hos skatteborgerne.

Men med den stribe konkurser og tvangslukninger han har i bagagen, er det ikke første gang, at du, som skatteborger, er med til at finansiere hans aktiviteter. Sønderborgs magtelite er totalfredet. Hvorfor så fortsætte?

Denne Facebookside blev startet for at vise, at Skansegården blev behandlet anderledes end tilsvarende ejendomsprojekter i Sønderborg Kommune og for at imødekomme angreb fra Peter Hansen, Venstre og JydskeVestkysten. Siden har den udviklet sig til at afdække, hvordan en magtelite i Sønderborg / Als styrer alt i landsdelen og kan omgå lovgivning, som alle andre er underlagt. Vi har skrevet hundredevis af fuldt dokumenterede artikler, og vores Facebookside har rundet 20 millioner sidevisninger.

Alligevel har der endnu ikke været andre medier, der tør at tage disse sager op. Måske fordi hovedpersonen der sidder midt i dette spind, sidder på en af de mest magtfulde positioner i den danske medieverden. Hvorfor fortsætter vi så, hvis disse mennesker er urørlige?

Det gør vi, fordi vi finder det vigtigt at dokumentere disse groteske sager. Hvis der en eller anden dag går hul på ballonen, og rigets grundlov også får effekt i Sønderborg - nå ja, så ligger hele vores research og alle artikler til fri afbenyttelse for jurister, journalister, offentlige myndigheder og andre interesserede. Men indtil da… regerer jungleloven fortsat i Sønderborg. (Opslaget har tidligere været bragt på vores Facebook side) https://www.berlingske.dk/karriere/danfoss-ejer-virksomhedsejere-er-nutidens-godsejere.-vi-skaber-vaerdi-for https://www.danskindustri.dk/di-business/arkiv/nyheder/2018/6/syddanmark-som-digitalt-kraftcenter/

This is an automatic reading translation. The source’s allegations and assessments have not been independently confirmed through translation. Check wording, qualifications and meaning against the preserved Danish original. Some retained numbers may use Danish separators: a dot for thousands and a comma for decimals. Check amounts against the Danish original.

Mr. Danfoss… a whistleblower?

It could be the script for a Netflix series about corruption, intrigue, political abuse of power and big money. Yet these are merely snapshots of the real world in Sønderborg. Read what happens when the dominant males feel the idyll at the local watering hole is disturbed. In short, how the law of the jungle maintains the rule of the strongest. 

One day in autumn 2020, the phone rang for a manager in the Danish division of Waterland, one of Europe’s largest private-equity funds. Waterland owns, among other things, the telephone company ipnordic. A man introduced himself as Jørgen Mads Clausen, chairman of the board of Danfoss, one of the world’s largest companies in its field.

He made clear that this was a whistleblower report. Initially, the Danish manager did not quite believe it was Mr. Danfoss himself calling, because contact of this kind from a top business leader would normally always come through a lawyer.

Jørgen Mads Clausen nevertheless convinced him of his identity. When an alarm is raised in a large company, a clearly established procedure must be followed. The Danish manager therefore immediately stopped Jørgen Mads Clausen and asked him to contact directly the external specialist unit handling whistleblower reports for the group.

Nobody with connections to the accused may be involved in handling cases of this kind. When Mr. Danfoss reached the correct department, the huge, extremely costly machinery started moving.  

Serious accusations against the owner
When the head of one of Europe’s largest industrial groups gets in touch, he is given airtime and people listen. Mr. Danfoss had a story about illegal activities taking place in the Sønderborg area, in which, according to Mr.

Danfoss, the owner of Skansegården and ipnordic director, the owner, was a central figure. Naturally, the report was taken very seriously. First and foremost because a whistleblower report is a drastic step.

But perhaps it was taken even more seriously because a very powerful man was making the allegations against an employee of the group. The owner’s employers therefore assigned one of Denmark’s most respected law firms to the task. They investigated every allegation made by Jørgen Mads Clausen.

They dug through the owner’s entire life history and turned every stone to find dirt. Absolutely nothing was to be left to chance now that the whistleblower hotline had been activated. To put it plainly in Jutland terms, things became very unpleasant for the owner and surely also his employer.

But everything was carried out efficiently and professionally.  

False accusations and foolishness upon foolishness
Several months later, the substantial report landed on the table in Waterland's boardroom. It showed that none of Jørgen Mads Clausen's accusations were true and completely cleared the owner. At the same time, it concluded that, in hindsight, the approach could hardly be characterised as a genuine whistleblower alarm.

Jørgen Mads Clausen was certainly not the most obvious whistleblower in this case. He was not a Waterland employee. He had had no business dealings with the owner and clearly had not in any way researched the allegations he made.

But where, then, did he get these tenuous accusations? One might think Peter Hansen wrote the statement of accusations. They were the same tenuous allegations the Venstre politician and JydskeVestkysten board chair had previously made.

But why does an experienced and undoubtedly highly intelligent senior executive make poorly substantiated allegations against a local entrepreneur? Did it matter that Jørgen Mads Clausen was Peter Hansen’s business partner in several companies, including bankrupt ones? The purpose of both Peter Hansen’s many false accusations and Jørgen Mads Clausen’s whistleblower report appears to have been to discredit the owner and pressure, among others, his employer to stop the Facebook page Dybbøl Banke Skansegården’s revelations about Peter Hansen and his friends’ questionable morality and financial activities.

It is easy to see why Peter Hansen wanted this so badly. But why was it so important to Jørgen Mads Clausen? In addition to his prominent position in Danish business, Clausen also has royal titles as Chamberlain and Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog to live up to.

That ought to ensure a steady course on his moral compass. Jørgen Mads Clausen's company Danfoss earned almost 5 billion kr. in 2020, so he should be able to afford the best advisers money can buy. What made him personally do something resembling a favour for Venstre man and serial-bankruptcy entrepreneur Peter Hansen?

Naturally, Danfoss is among the companies with a whistleblower hotline, so Clausen knew perfectly well the consequences of activating such a report, the documentation it requires from the company and the substantial costs it causes.  

Mr. Danfoss exposed by Peter Hansen
It is also puzzling that Jørgen Mads Clausen personally made contact and made clear that it was a whistleblower report. The most likely reason must be that he thought it would guarantee him 100 percent anonymity.

In reality, it would have, were it not for yet another foolish act—this time by Peter Hansen. Through lengthy email correspondence, the then municipal councillor continued applying pressure to the owner's employers. In one email, Peter Hansen himself revealed Jørgen Mads Clausen's name and his role in contacting the whistleblower line.

Incidentally, Peter Hansen was arrogant enough to use his official Sønderborg Kommune email account for the pressure. That is why we were able to present documentation of the correspondence at the time and can now tell this story. Thank you, Peter. 

Examples of skilful PR work
Could the case have been handled more cleverly? Certainly, if Clausen had not acted alone. Danfoss has one of the country’s best press departments, including former ministerial advisers.

Danfoss Media Relations was probably not consulted, however, and has not subsequently commented on this case, despite Clausen representing the Danfoss group when contacting the whistleblower hotline. Over the years, Danfoss Media Relations has been extremely skilful in handling sensitive cases for the Southern Jutland company. The handling of the Himmark pollution is a good example of impressive PR work.   

Himmark pollution is classified as intergenerational contamination
In the 1950s and 1960s, severe pollution arose at Himmark Strand after waste from Danfoss production was disposed of by burying it. The pollution has placed Danfoss in the unattractive position of being among Denmark's 10 biggest polluters. The pollution at Himmark Strand on Als is now officially intergenerational contamination.

The term applies to toxic waste deposits whose remediation costs at least 50 million kroner and whose pollution will remain a problem for many future generations unless addressed. Region Syddanmark imposed a swimming ban at Himmark Strand after vinyl chloride was found. The substance can cause a rare liver cancer.

Because it is so toxic, the permitted quantity is 0.05 micrograms per litre. A single water sample from beneath the seabed at Himmark contained 60,000 micrograms of the carcinogenic substance per litre. According to Region Syddanmark, the cost of removing the pollution at Himmark Strand is expected to be somewhere between 133 million kroner and 172 million kroner.

Despite this pollution ranking in the top 10, astonishingly little has been written about it in the press. It has been possible to sell the press a story that, when Danfoss buried chemical waste, it was not illegal – and that the company actually intends to give 25 million kroner as a supplement to the funds allocated to cleaning up Himmark Strand through the national budget. Danfoss previously contributed around ten million kroner to a preliminary investigation intended to establish the extent of the problem.

In other words, the company wants to help with something it is not actually obliged to do. It is certainly good that Danfoss intends to contribute, but the rest of the bill (at least 100 million) thus falls to the taxpayers. Even though the amount would be only a fraction of Danfoss’s profit in 2021 alone.

Consider how little you have heard about the Himmark pollution, for example compared with Cheminova, Høfde 42 and Harboøre Tange.  

Skilful PR work
When JydskeVestkysten journalists tried to investigate the Himmark case, Sønderborg Kommune refused them access to records. Normally that would have created a media storm, but strangely it did not. The municipality tried to conceal the minutes of a meeting about the pollution between the municipality and representatives of Danfoss and the region.

Perhaps because a development company was well advanced in planning Nordals Ferieresort. Press reports of heavy pollution only just over a kilometre from the holiday paradise would have been particularly inconvenient. Peter Hansen sat on both the council and JydskeVestkysten’s board at the time and supported the municipal chief executive who had blocked access to records.  

Russian exit dragged on – without a significant backlash
Another case handled well by Danfoss Media Relations was the somewhat hesitant exit from Russia. While other major Danish companies acted quickly and decisively, Danfoss reacted more slowly. On 24 February, Russia’s military sent tanks and troops across Ukraine’s border, but Danfoss announced its decision to withdraw completely from Russia only on 1 April, five weeks later.

On 15 July, the company announced it had reached an agreement with its Russian management to sell the business. Before that happened, several unfortunate stories emerged, for example about Danfoss supplying parts to the Russian war machine, a matter now being investigated by the Danish state for breaches of international conventions. While Danfoss hesitated, some Danish companies had already withdrawn, while others, such as a shoe manufacturer and a producer of insulation materials, faced full-scale public backlash.

As far as is known, these companies supplied absolutely nothing to the Russian war machine. Again, skilful PR work and such good relations with large parts of the press that apparently almost every article used the same wording as Danfoss's own press releases.  

Peter Hansen as guardian of morality
We know this headline seems unintentionally comic, but Peter Hansen, who presented himself as something of a Ukrainian war hero during a lengthy charm campaign in his own outlet, JydskeVestkysten, spoke indignantly about the shoe manufacturer and insulation company. In contrast, he did not mention his friends at Danfoss. The shoe manufacturer even lost its title as a royal warrant holder, but the royal household apparently has not yet had time to examine the conduct of Danfoss and Chamberlain Jørgen Mads Clausen.  

Working relationships and the new aristocracy 
Jørgen Mads Clausen and Peter Hansen have owned companies and private aircraft together. Jørgen Mads Clausen assured the press that he does not deduct losses on these aircraft from tax, although he can. Nobody except the tax authorities can see whether that is correct, however.

Peter Hansen, in contrast, had the tax authorities and you as a taxpayer pay for his jet and pleasure yacht through several bankruptcies. But that is another story we have previously investigated. In an interview with Berlingske, Jørgen Mads Clausen said that he sees himself and other top businesspeople as today’s nobility and believes that this position should bring special advantages.

See exactly what he means in the article link below the article.  

More thought-provoking paradoxes
While Jørn Mads Clausen sees himself as the aristocracy deciding matters on Als, another part of the Danfoss family takes a more philanthropic approach to making Sønderborg an attractive place to live and work. It does so through major construction projects and cooperation with the municipality to attract new residents. Thus, while one part of the Danfoss family invests heavily in growth, development and entrepreneurship, the other tries by every means to drive entrepreneurs out of town.

At the same time, both management and employees in the Danfoss group do impressive work continually updating and maintaining a contemporary code of ethics, for which they deserve great respect. 

Extensive campaign to discredit an entrepreneur
The whistleblower alarm was activated while around ten other measures were launched. Through Sønderjyllands Politi, Peter Hansen brought several charges against the owner, all of which turned out to be false. Venstre MP Anne Honoré Østergaard submitted a section §20 question to Skatteministeriet, prompting it to investigate the owner's finances in an entirely exceptional way.

However, Anne Honoré Østergaard has shown no interest in investigating Peter Hansen's business history, which contains many interesting stories. The aim was to impede constitutionally protected freedom of expression. JydskeVestkysten ran full-page articles with headlines such as ‘Tax fraud’, all supported by statements from Peter Hansen, its own board chairman.

After 50+ articles about Skansegården, JydskeVestkysten's editor-in-chief Mads Sanderman has repeatedly assured us that he is not in Peter Hansen's pocket—but why has JV completely forgotten to cover its chairman's many bankruptcies and compulsory closures? Sønderborg Erhvervsklub also became part of the campaign. Here, email correspondence shows that Peter Hansen was able to control the club despite not being a member.

He revealed that he knew the club would expel the owner before it actually happened. It is all part of an extensive attack strategy.  

Peter Hansen

Expensive for everyone – except Peter 
This entire story, which started when the owner bought a property someone else had wanted, has so far cost many millions in legal costs, lawyers' pay, research and journalistic work. Most of that bill has landed with the owner. 

The owner's employers were left to pay for Jørgen Mads Clausen's whistleblower investigation. Despite the allegations proving false, the case naturally caused reputational damage—and did not positively contribute to the determined focus on creating jobs and results in Sønderborg Kommune.  

Peter Hansen, who orchestrated the entire campaign, is the only person kept financially unscathed, as usual. He always ensures the bill for everything he initiates, including police, tax authorities, Sønderborg Kommune officials and lawyers, lands with taxpayers. With the string of bankruptcies and compulsory closures behind him, this is not the first time you as a taxpayer have helped finance his activities.  

Sønderborg's power elite is completely protected. Why continue? This Facebook page was started to show that Skansegården was treated differently from comparable property projects in Sønderborg Kommune and to respond to attacks from Peter Hansen, Venstre and JydskeVestkysten.

It has since developed into an investigation of how a power elite in Sønderborg/Als controls everything in the region and can circumvent legislation binding everyone else. We have written hundreds of fully documented articles, and our Facebook page has passed 20 million page views. Yet no other media has dared take up these cases.

Perhaps because the central figure in this web holds one of the most powerful positions in Danish media.  

Why, then, do we continue if these people are untouchable? Because we consider it important to document these grotesque cases. If the bubble ever bursts and the country's constitution begins to apply in Sønderborg too—well, then all our research and articles will be freely available for lawyers, journalists, public authorities and other interested parties.  

But until then… the law of the jungle continues to rule in Sønderborg. 

Danfoss owner: ‘Business owners are today’s landowners. We create value for society
Read more here

Concealment: Sønderborg Kommune did not follow the law
‘Political spokesperson and municipal councillor Peter Hansen (V) agrees. – I feel convinced that the municipal chief executive did not want to keep anything hidden from the citizens, but wanted to have the details under control, inform everyone first and have the minutes approved by all parties.’
Read more here

“The case also caused dissatisfaction at Christiansborg. Venstre’s foreign-affairs spokesperson, Michael Aastrup Jensen, therefore summoned Defence Minister Morten Bødskov (S) and representatives of Udenrigsministeriet to explain the case to Udenrigspolitisk Nævn.

“If it is legal, the entire ethical question still remains. In other words: did Danfoss’s subsidiary help ensure Putin’s war machine had the strength it has? I must admit I consider it very morally and ethically wrong,” Michael Aastrup Jensen said. "
Read more here