#Skogkär #Corruption #Swedish
Corruption is increasing in Sweden. And something else is surely not to be expected given the general development in society. In three years, from 2020 to 2023, the number of bribery charges in Sweden has almost tripled, from 38 to 96. This shows the Institute against bribery, IMM, case collection for 2023.
Just under a hundred prosecutions in one year, most of which resulted in convictions for daily fines, may not sound so serious. But the dark figure is large and the long-term trend is clear.
“Our self-image and the reputation we have do not correspond to reality”, says IMM’s general secretary Parul Sharma to Svenska Dagbladet.
There are certain sectors of society where, judging by the number of convictions, the culture of corruption has taken hold: transport and vehicle-related activities such as traffic schools and car inspections, law enforcement in the form of the police and correctional services, the construction and construction sector and care and welfare.
Earlier this year, the organization Transparency International published its annual corruption index which measures the perceived corruption in the public sector in 180 countries. There, Sweden continues to fall, getting 82 points out of a possible 100, one tapp on seven points since 2015. Sweden remains one of the least corrupt countries but lags behind our Nordic neighbours.
In investigation conducted by Eurobarometer in the spring of 2022 also shows that Swedes are significantly less concerned about corruption than citizens of most other EU countries. In Sweden, one-third of respondents believe that corruption in their own country is widespread, while two-thirds believe that corruption is rare. For the EU as a whole, the result is the opposite: two-thirds believe that corruption is widespread, one-third that it is rare.
Read also: Hjort: Sweden’s increasing corruption is part of a larger decline
This Swedish confidence is not uncalled for. In international comparisons – such as Transparency International’s index – Sweden has always belonged to an exclusive group of countries judged to be virtually free of corruption, at least of the more serious kind. The high resistance to corruption has been explained by a high level of economic development, stable democracy and similarly stable institutions.
But these institutions have proven vulnerable to infiltration, corruption and fraud. Serious organized crime nests everywhere, in the public and private sectors. The prison service is infiltrated through employees who help the inmates. Other authorities, such as the judiciary and the police, have similar problems. Gangster lawyers help clients with services that violate both good legal practice and Swedish law. According to the research report Criminal entrepreneurs from the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, every third person within organized crime in Sweden has had some form of corporate involvement, for example a board position.
“Organized crime is embedded in large parts of the social sector. You shouldn’t think that it is isolated to young men who do drugs and shoot each other,” sade Amir Rostami, professor of criminology and one of the study’s authors, when the report was published in January this year.
The Institute against Bribery points out that it is where the private and public sectors meet – for example in public procurement – that most bribery offenses take place. The IT entrepreneur Jens Nylander has developed a tool that, with the support of artificial intelligence, can review gigantic amounts of documents such as invoices and procurement agreements. What he has revealed in the last year in the form of rigged procurements and strange agreements can make anyone afraid of the dark. And that inevitably raises questions about how much of these dodgy deals involve corruption in any form. That Nylander’s review shows a gigantic waste with tax funds, there is no doubt in any case.
In December 2020, Sweden received its first action plan against corruption in public activities. Three years later stated The State Office that some “challenges in working consciously and structured against corruption” remained. That’s probably not an exaggeration.
Read also: Brinkemo: Corruption à la Middle East – in Sweden
Mats Skogkär
Educated at the University of Journalism in Gothenburg. Reporter at TT News Agency for 15 years. Editorial writer at Sydsvenskan for 15 years.
