The Swedish financial police (finanspolisen) warns that criminal organisations are increasingly using the proceeds of crime to pay for housing or to finance large bank loans.
They see that this is often done with the help of falsified documents and records and that the crime is facilitated by real estate agents and bank officials.
– For several years we have been informing lenders to be aware of customers whose loan documentation is fabricated or where the deposit consists of money earned through crime, says Lena Palmklint, head of the Financial Police, in a press release.
It is emphasised that both real estate agents and bankers are obliged to report suspected money laundering – but that it is unusual to receive reports from real estate agents regarding suspicious home purchases.
– The reports from the banks, together with other information we have, show that the problem is widespread and that many real estate agents and other actors who assist in the brokerage of loans are involved in money laundering – either deliberately or due to a lack of controls, Palmklint continues.
It also happens that bank officials grant mortgages on the wrong grounds, thus helping gang criminals to launder money.
“When large bank loans are granted on false grounds, it leads both to network criminals being able to launder large criminal profits through apparently legitimate property transactions and to professional money launderers making big money. It also risks manipulating pricing in the housing market, if end prices are inflated on the basis of fraud“, the financial police warns.
Real estate agents convicted of serious fraud
– The pressure on this type of facilitator, who provides false documents and authorises them, is increasing from criminal circles. There is therefore every reason for banks, authorities and private operators alike to carry out thorough checks, Palmklint explains.
As recently as June, a real estate agent and his business partner were sentenced to 4.5 and 3.5 years in prison respectively for aggravated fraud, aggravated accounting offences and aggravated money laundering, as well as a five-year ban on trading. This followed joint intelligence work by the Financial Police and the Swedish Economic Crime Authority (Ekobrottsmyndigheten).
– I have filed a cross-appeal and, among other things, requested that the Court of Appeal impose stricter penalties and longer business bans on the two representatives of the real estate brokerage company, says Linda Johansson, head of the preliminary investigation and prosecutor at the Swedish Economic Crime Authority in Stockholm.
