Thursday, August 28, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Criminal networks plunder Sweden – Economic Crime Authority warns of collapse

organized crime

Published 6 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to Jermsten, "the basic functions of society" are now threatened by the rise of organized crime.
2 minute read

Organized economic crime is growing rapidly in Sweden. According to the Swedish Economic Crime Authority’s new Director General Rikard Jermsten, the criminal economy amounts to more than SEK 150 billion (€13,5 billion) every year, and is today considered a systemic threat.

– It’s worse than I thought. We as a society are financing the crime that we are supposed to fight, he says.

In its latest situation report, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority describes a development where crimes are becoming increasingly complex and extensive and where profits are increasing sharply. Money laundering through advanced corporate arrangements is identified as a central part of the gang criminal economy.

– In the past, the criminal profits in our investigations could amount to tens of millions of SEK. Today, we see profits well over 100 million in individual cases, explains Jermsten.

Particularly at risk are welfare systems, where criminal networks plunder public resources through fake companies, scam invoices and identity theft. But banks, pension systems and large construction and infrastructure projects have also become targets for organized crime.

“Threatening the basic functions of society”

The often quoted figure  that the criminal economy in Sweden has a turnover of SEK 150 billion (€13,5 billion) is probably underestimated, according to Jermsten.

Economic crime is growing in scope and threatens the basic functions of society. It undermines trust in the state, weakens public finances and damages welfare systems“, the agency states in its report.

Jermsten describes the consequences as twofold: on the one hand, society loses tax revenue that would have gone to health, education and social care  and on the other hand, the money is used instead to finance other crime. If crime becomes too widespread, he also believes that honest citizens will be less willing to pay taxes.

– When criminals steal tax money from the state, we all lose out. At the same time, competition in the business world is distorted, with serious long-term consequences.

No quick fixes

There are no quick fixes, according to the agency. But to strengthen resilience, it wants to see several measures: making it harder to start or take over companies for criminal purposes, easier to control company representatives, and harder to exploit other people’s identities.

Public procurement must also be tightened up to keep organised crime out, and the supervisory authorities’ control functions need to be strengthened. The Economic Crime Authority also proposes tougher penalties for economic crime in general.

– The development is going in the wrong direction. The whole of society now needs to build up its resilience, says Rikard Jermsten.

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Police warn of persistently high violence in Sweden

organized crime

Published yesterday 13:35
– By Editorial Staff
The current extensive gang-related violence is now to be considered a permanent feature in Sweden, according to police.
3 minute read

After a series of shootings and explosions in the Stockholm area in recent weeks, police do not want to speak of a temporary wave of violence. Instead, the regional police chief describes the situation as a “constantly high level of violence in Sweden”.

Upplands Väsby, Kallhäll, Viksjö, Bromma and Sätra – the list of places in the Stockholm area that have been hit by shootings and bombings recently continues to grow.

Most recently, during the night leading to Wednesday, an extensive police operation was underway in Viksjö, northwest of Stockholm, after a shooting at a gas station where two people were injured. Shortly before, on August 25, two people were shot dead in a car in a parking lot in nearby Kallhäll. Police cannot yet answer whether there are connections between the various incidents.

Despite the recent concentration of violent crimes in northern Stockholm, police do not want to use the term “wave of violence” to describe the development.

— I would rather say that we have seen a number of completed crimes in a short time and with a clear geographical limitation to northern Stockholm, says Magnus Mowitz, regional police chief for Stockholm north, on Swedish public television SVT’s morning show.

He emphasizes that police have simultaneously succeeded in preventing a series of planned violent crimes, but acknowledges the grim reality:

— The term wave of violence is not something we use, however we can see that there are violent crimes that continuously occur. We have a constantly high level of violence in Sweden, he states.

Thousands of gang criminals

Before the 1990s, gang crime was essentially an unknown phenomenon in Sweden, where the organized crime that did exist was mainly linked to motorcycle gangs and where violent confrontations with firearms and explosives on open streets were virtually non-existent. Sweden was long one of Europe’s safest countries with one of the world’s lowest murder rates.

Over the past three decades, however, the situation has changed dramatically. In pace with unlimited mass immigration from conflict-affected areas in the Third World, criminal networks have been established in suburbs around the country.

From being concentrated in the metropolitan areas’ vulnerable neighborhoods, gang crime has now spread to virtually all Swedish cities of any size, and police estimate that today the number of active individuals in the criminal networks amounts to more than 14,000 individuals – from Malmö in the south to Kiruna in the north.

Turning over multi-billion amounts annually

The criminal networks are not only engaged in spectacular bombings and murders. Drug trafficking still forms the backbone of the operations, but the gangs have significantly diversified their criminal activities. Extortion of business owners, particularly in the suburbs, has become increasingly common, and welfare fraud through fake assistance companies and other schemes drain billions from taxpayers every year.

Human trafficking, arms smuggling, theft gangs and receiving stolen goods are also part of the repertoire, while money laundering occurs through real estate investments, currency exchange offices and cryptocurrencies.

Exactly how much money organized crime turns over each year is impossible to answer, but estimates from police suggest it amounts to approximately €9-14 billion annually.

Lawyers and accountants help criminal networks in Sweden

organized crime

Published 22 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Respectable professional groups often sell services to criminal networks for money laundering and shell companies.
2 minute read

False identities, corruption and violence. Organized crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated and poses a growing threat to Swedish society, shows a new situation report from 14 Swedish authorities.

Drug crimes, fraud, environmental crimes and organized theft are identified as the greatest societal threats from organized crime. Behind the crimes lies an advanced criminal infrastructure where gang criminals use false identities and shell companies to launder their criminal proceeds.

The new inter-agency situation report reveals how criminals’ strategies are becoming increasingly advanced. Violence and threats, corruption as well as countermeasures against authority operations are used systematically to protect criminal activities.

— We see, among other things, that crimes that affect many people and companies in everyday life, volume crimes, are very organized and often carried out very professionally, so we cannot just investigate these crimes away, they must also be prevented, says Johan Olsson, chairman of the operational council and head of the Swedish police’s national operational department (NOA).

Lawyers and accountants help criminals

The report identifies five crime areas that contain all six types of criminal infrastructure: drug crimes, fraud, environmental crimes, organized theft crime and crimes against international sanctions. Almost as serious are VAT fraud, excise tax crimes and organized crime in working life.

A central part of the criminal structure is so-called enablers – people who sell their services to criminal networks. This involves everything from money laundering and transport to arranging companies and false identities. According to the report, these enablers are often found among professional groups such as lawyers, brokers and accountants.

The authorities warn that criminals are expected to adapt further to avoid prosecution. Several worrying trends are already visible: criminals use foundations and non-profit associations for their activities, protect assets through false documents and identities, and move operations abroad – particularly to countries without extradition agreements with Sweden.

— The situation report shows the importance of countering the criminal economy, more efforts against enablers and strengthening international cooperation in crime fighting. Both in the authorities’ individual work and in the inter-agency initiative, several initiatives are ongoing to strengthen efforts against the problem picture described in the situation report, explains Olsson.

Fewer shootings in Sweden — but bomb attacks have doubled

organized crime

Published 3 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to Swedish police, the purpose of the bomb attacks is often to extort, intimidate, or threaten the victims.
2 minute read

The number of shootings in Sweden has almost halved compared to last year – but at the same time, bombings have increased dramatically. According to new statistics from the Swedish Police Authority, over 100 bombing incidents have occurred so far this year, representing a doubling compared to the same period in 2024.

During the first six months of this year, police have recorded 84 shootings. This marks a significant decrease compared to the first half of 2022, when 205 shootings occurred, resulting in 34 deaths and 49 injuries. The number of people injured in shooting incidents has also gradually decreased since then. However, the 2025 statistics include the school attack in Örebro, central Sweden, where ten people lost their lives.

This development comes against the backdrop of Sweden’s long-standing struggles with organized crime, where violent gangs, often with immigrant backgrounds, have spread fear in both major cities and smaller towns. For several years, authorities have struggled to effectively address the escalating violence – but according to police, certain measures are now showing results.

– In both physical and digital environments, as well as in investigations, we are now faster and more efficient, which has enabled us to prevent impending crimes and increase the clearance rate of deadly gang-related violence from about 20-30 percent to about 60 percent in recent years. This partly explains why we’re seeing fewer shootings, says August Knutsson, operational coordinator at the Swedish Police’s National Operations Center.

More bombings during winter months

While shootings have decreased, another form of violence has increased significantly. So far this year, 104 explosions have occurred – double the number compared to the same period in 2024, when 52 bomb attacks were recorded.

– This is obviously serious, and we’ve noticed that criminal groups have shifted their methods and carried out more bombings during winter and spring. Often for extortion purposes, to intimidate or threaten. However, since the beginning of the year, when we saw a sharp increase in completed bombings, they have decreased. We’re arresting more perpetrators during the preparation stage than before, explains Knutsson.

He emphasizes that the situation is still considered very serious and that gang violence could soon escalate again:

– At the same time, the conflict level remains high, and we know from experience that the situation can change rapidly. We’re doing everything we can to keep violence levels down.

Hundreds of gang members control Swedish crime from abroad

organized crime

Published 30 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
A total of 124 internationally wanted criminals with connections to Swedish criminal networks have been arrested in other countries this year.
2 minute read

Hundreds of gang criminals have left Sweden – but continue to pull the strings from abroad.

According to the Swedish Police Authority, around 700 individuals have been identified, and the authority is now intensifying its international efforts to strike back against gangs trying to organize from safe distances.

– As we have developed and changed our working methods, criminals have moved to other countries. Initially, this happened to other European countries, but increasingly to countries outside Europe and the Schengen area, says Stefan Hector, Deputy National Police Commissioner of Sweden, in a press release.

So far this year, 124 internationally wanted persons with connections to Swedish crime have been arrested abroad. This represents a significant increase compared to last year, when the total number of arrests was 86.

According to Hector, it is challenging to apprehend gang leaders and other key figures in countries where legal systems and legislation differ significantly from Sweden’s. To address this, the Swedish Police has initiated cooperation with several key countries – including Turkey, the USA, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.

– This is difficult and demanding work, and we are working intensively, primarily to build relationships and cooperation with other countries, as we face common problems, he explains.

Beyond arrests, the police are also trying to stop the growing digital recruitment of young people into serious crime. The phenomenon, where gangs lure youth to carry out acts of violence through so-called violence-as-a-service, often resembles regular job advertisements.

The Swedish Police now leads an international task force called OTF Grimm, in collaboration with Europol and authorities from seven other countries, aimed at countering recruitment and violence-for-hire schemes spread online.

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