{"id":176778,"date":"2026-08-26T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T08:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/?p=176778"},"modified":"2026-08-26T10:02:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T08:02:24","slug":"ug-avslojar-kommunkorruptionen-miljonavtal-spritresor-och-visselblasare-som-far-ga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/the-report-exposes-municipal-corruption-million-krona-contracts-alcohol-fueled-trips-and-whistleblowers-who-are-forced-to-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"UG Exposes Municipal Corruption: Million-Crown Contracts, Booze-Fueled Trips\u2014and Whistleblowers Who Are Forced Out"},"content":{"rendered":"
Alcohol-fueled trips to Germany, secret deals worth hundreds of millions, and items purchased by the municipality that ended up in an employee\u2019s home. The investigative program \u201cUppdrag granskning\u201d\u2019s survey of 80 municipal scandals shows how few cases are reported to the police\u2014and how even fewer result in indictments.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Swedish municipalities manage approximately 900 billion kronor in revenue each year and are responsible for large parts of citizens\u2019 daily lives. Yet experts in Review mission<\/a><\/strong> (UG) both a lack of awareness of the problem and a lack of consequences when suspected irregularities come to light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alcohol-fueled trips as million-dollar contracts grew<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of the most extensive cases occurred in Ystad. There, municipal officials were treated to dinners and trips by the security firm Stanley Security, at the same time that the municipality was doing significant business with the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trips included a minibus trip to Germany, where beer, wine, and liquor were purchased. A former administrative director was asked in court why meetings with the supplier had to be held during trips rather than in the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significantly larger sums were involved in these trips. According to UG, the contracts signed by an administrative director were estimated to be worth over 700 million kronor, and several of them were structured to run for eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The municipality is still stuck<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The officials who participated in the trips resigned from their jobs, and charges were filed, but all of the defendants were acquitted. According to UG, the district court ruled that the complimentary trips and dinners could not be considered improper benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afterward, however, the agreements remained in place. Ystad is still struggling to get out of them, and according to the program, 20 million kronor is set aside annually while a legal dispute over the safety equipment is ongoing. Legal fees are reported to have exceeded 11 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raised the alarm about the problems\u2014was forced to leave<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, UG shines a spotlight on what happened to those who began digging into the matter. Two municipal directors who tried to raise the alarm about the problems were forced to resign. The other municipal director and her team had continued to investigate the security contracts and had also uncovered other suspicious municipal contracts. She was then summoned by the politicians and told that the parties would part ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dPure bullying\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After her departure, the municipality\u2019s security department continued its investigation. An anonymous former official states in the program that the work environment became increasingly hostile at the same time and that the security chief was mocked at management team meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Yes, in some cases it was outright bullying.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The head of security eventually resigned, and after that, the rest of the security team who had been working on the investigations also left. The anonymous official says that he himself did not protest and describes his actions in a self-critical manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 That I was cowardly and loyal, and that I protected myself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expert Warns Against a Culture of Silence<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Former State Attorney General Thomas Forsberg<\/strong>, who has worked at the National Anti-Corruption Unit, highlights the vulnerable situation of whistleblowers. According to him, the systems that are required by law to protect those who blow the whistle do not always work as intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Whistleblowers tend to face adverse consequences when they report irregularities, and the whistleblower systems that are required by law to be in place do not always function as intended. Better and more effective oversight is needed in this area.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public art was found in a private residence<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

UG\u2019s investigation extends far beyond Ystad. In Ving\u00e5ker, purchases of art and antiques made with municipal funds were examined, and several of the items were later identified in real estate listings showing the private residence of a municipal employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the program, the employee stated that the items had only been borrowed to take home for a house showing. Despite this information, the person had not been warned as of the time of the audit and was still employed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politician and supplier at the same time<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In another case, three politicians on a technical committee had ties to companies that provided services to the municipality. They represented the Center Party, the Social Democrats, and the Sweden Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of them went on to pursue a political career and became a city council member. UG also mentions an ice rink that the city council member allegedly purchased without a democratic decision, after which his family business was contracted to carry out the installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OECD Criticizes Sweden<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the issue has drawn international attention. According to SVT, the OECD has once again criticized Sweden\u2019s ability to combat corruption, pointing to a lack of investigative resources and judicial practices that the organization believes lead to excessive evidentiary requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, corruption expert Natali Engstam Phal\u00e9n of the police agency NOA points to Sweden\u2019s self-image as a potential obstacle to identifying these problems:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 To some extent, there is probably a lack of awareness and understanding of the fact that corruption exists here in Sweden as well, based on the perception that we are a country with low levels of corruption.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dReveals the same thing over and over again\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

UG\u2019s review covers 80 municipal scandals. Despite recurring revelations, the editorial staff notes that few of the cases are reported to the police and that even fewer proceed all the way to prosecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For journalists covering local governments, the pattern is becoming all too familiar. Following yet another expos\u00e9 about politicians holding dual roles, a reporter sums up the frustration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Sometimes it feels like we\u2019re exposing the same thing over and over again, and nothing ever happens.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alcohol-fueled trips, million-krona contracts, and whistleblowers who are forced out. UG\u2019s investigation reveals a Sweden where few corruption scandals in municipalities lead to criminal charges<\/p>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":149236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206,205],"tags":[1729,328,433,3931],"class_list":["post-176778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-inrikes","category-nyheter","tag-kommuner","tag-korruption","tag-svt","tag-uppdrag-granskning"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frihetsnytt.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}