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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/stockholm-construction-industry-infiltrated-by-criminals/

Sweden

Stockholm construction industry infiltrated by criminals

Updated March 28, 2024, Published March 28, 2024 – By Editorial staff
The construction workers in the picture have nothing to do with the article.
3 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Stockholm's construction industry faces an uphill battle against rogue companies and a growing wave of criminal activity. Everything from human exploitation to undeclared work and money laundering plague the industry. The problems are widespread and continue on a large scale despite strict official regulations and monitoring.

Since Sweden joined the EU in the 1990s, and the much-vaunted free movement of people was introduced, the Swedish construction industry has had to wage an increasingly intense battle against rogue and, in many cases, outright criminal actors.

In 2023, nearly 300 cases ranging from low wages to dirty human exploitation were reported to the Fair Play Bygg whistleblower service in the Stockholm area alone. However, the number of unreported cases is estimated to be high and to occur throughout the country.

Scams involving illegal immigrants

Several of the reports have been forwarded to the relevant authorities, such as the police, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority and the Swedish Tax Agency.

One of the cases shows how illegal workers are forced to perform dangerous tasks for a wage of only SEK 45 per hour. In this case, there is an accountant who is not only a partner in the company, but is also linked to several other construction companies with large tax debts.

Another revelation shows fraud with ID06 cards. A reported company has more active ID06 cards than actual employees. According to the report, employees are forced to withdraw their wages in cash and return most of it to the company. The money is then used to pay both undocumented and illegal workers.

A third report describes how workers were evicted from their homes after demanding their wages. These homes are also owned by the company. The company has also avoided paying employer contributions and taxes, which is common among the more rogue players in the sector.

ID06 card fraud is a major problem in the construction industry. Photo: id06.se

People on sick leave are exploited

Several companies have established a practice of exploiting state activity support. A number of companies deliberately break the rules by forcing workers on sick leave to do heavy and stressful work. These jobs are rarely long-term, as workers are often dismissed and quickly replaced by new ones who depend on the subsidy to survive.

Companies exploiting construction workers on sick leave to do heavy work under the guise of activity support are only part of the large-scale criminal activity. Tomas Kullberg, president of workers' organization Byggnads Stockholm-Gotland and spokesman for Fair Play Bygg, describes the grim situation.

– We have seen the emergence of a shadow society where large amounts of tax money disappear from the public welfare system and where foreign workers are exploited, says Tomas Kullberg.

Millions of dollars recovered

Fair Play Bygg's work has led to companies being forced to pay millions in unpaid taxes, but the problems continue to grow. While housing construction in Stockholm halved in 2023, crime in the industry also changed.

Defrauding government wage guarantees has also become more common, with rogue actors exploiting the system for their own gain. Kristin Andersson, CEO of the Swedish Construction Association.

– Fair Play Bygg's work has resulted in tax increases of SEK 124 million, which we are proud of. But now it is time to take swift action against bad actors and promote healthy competition in the construction industry.

Byggnads wants to stop fraud

To combat the epidemic of corruption and crime, Byggnads has launched the Swedish Construction Control project.

The project aims to stop fraud and crime in the workplace by reporting suspicious activities to the authorities and trying to remove rogue companies from the workplace.

– It's been a hard job of recruitment and it feels really good to have everything in place. The goal is simple: criminal companies should not bother to enter our industry. The serious companies will survive and grow, says Johan Lindholm, chairman of Byggnads.

The head of Svensk Byggkontroll will be Peter Sjöstrand, the former secretary of the agreement and deputy chairman of Målarna.

– This has all the potential to be a real game changer in the industry. I am very much looking forward to leading the work for a healthier construction industry.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-prison-service-opposes-plan-to-lower-criminal-age-to-13/

Sweden

Swedish Prison Service opposes plan to lower criminal age to 13

Published today 10:22 am – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The Swedish government's proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 is facing strong criticism. In its consultation response, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) states that it is not equipped to receive such young children in prison and that they should be cared for in other ways.

By July 1 next year, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service is expected to have built prison units for children where both 15–17-year-olds and 13–14-year-olds convicted of serious crimes will serve sentences. At the same time, places at the special youth homes (SiS homes, state-run institutions for youth care) will be phased out.

In the consultation response, the Prison and Probation Service writes that imprisonment at a young age can lead to negative consequences, and that children "as young as 13 should be cared for in other ways".

— These concerns become more significant the younger the children in question are, says Elisabeth Lager, acting legal director, to TT.

The Prison and Probation Service is clear that the organization does not have the required resources. It lacks both the expertise and suitable facilities to handle children as young as 13 within prisons, detention centers, or community-based sanctions such as probation. Practical issues such as education must also be addressed. At the same time, it is noted that the level of the age of criminal responsibility is ultimately a political matter.

Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer writes that the government will "carefully analyze all consultation responses". He emphasizes that society must "care for children in a completely different way than today" in cases of the most serious crimes, both to protect victims and society, but also the children themselves.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/syrian-man-convicted-of-rape-remains-in-sweden-six-years-after-deportation-order/

Sweden

Syrian man convicted of rape remains in Sweden six years after deportation order

Migrant violence

Published November 10, 2025 – By Editorial staff
The tent at the Emmaboda Festival 2017 where the Syrian migrant Noraldin Alhamamy, now known as "Emil Jordensson," raped a 15-year-old girl.---**Context note:** Emmaboda Festival is a music festival held in Emmaboda, a small town in southern Sweden. The case refers to a criminal incident that occurred at the festival in 2017.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

A migrant who was sentenced to deportation for aggravated rape of a 15-year-old girl at a music festival in 2017 is still in Sweden. During this time, the 30-year-old has committed new crimes and ran as a candidate in the Swedish church elections this summer. Now Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell calls the situation "sick" and promises legislative changes.

The 30-year-old Syrian citizen Noraldin Alhamamy came to Sweden in 2015 and received a permanent residence permit in the fall of 2016. Just six days before that decision, he was convicted of his first crime in the country: sexual molestation, reports Fria Tider.

In the summer of 2017, he committed the crime that would lead to deportation. At the Emmaboda Festival in southern Sweden, he raped a 15-year-old girl in her tent. He threatened her with a knife and covered her mouth during the assault. The girl developed post-traumatic stress disorder and has described how she lives in constant fear and anxiety.

— He has destroyed my life, the girl said during the trial.

The man, who now goes by the name Emil Jordensson, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and deportation with a ten-year entry ban. However, the deportation has not been carried out because he has claimed several obstacles to enforcement.

Claimed conversion and military service

First, he claimed that he risked being called up for military service in the Syrian army. Later, he claimed that he had converted to Christianity, which he argued would put him in danger in his home country. His case has been heard in the Migration Court of Appeal and has become precedent-setting for other courts. Despite being denied refugee status due to the severity of his crime, he remains in Sweden more than six years after the verdict.

During this time, he has committed additional crimes. Last year, he was convicted of aggravated assault against a public official after making a revenge visit to a police officer who had arrested him, as well as for assaulting his wife, car theft, and harassment. The crimes were deemed to have been committed during a psychosis and he was sentenced to probation with supervision.

This summer, it was revealed in the regional newspaper Smålandsposten that the man was running as a candidate in the Church elections, which was possible because he is registered in the Swedish population register. He withdrew his candidacy after the revelation.

New legislation planned

— It is of course sick. It is completely unacceptable, says Migration Minister Johan Forssell to the Bonnier newspaper Expressen.

The government will propose a new law called "tolerated stay" to handle people in this situation. They will then not receive temporary residence permits, be prohibited from leaving a certain area, have reporting obligations, and not be able to access Swedish welfare or register in the population register.

The man has been in detention since September after the Swedish Migration Agency decided that he cannot be held in regular detention due to his criminal record.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/25-years-since-the-murder-of-daniel-wretstrom/

Sweden

25 years since the murder of Daniel Wretström

Migrant violence

Updated November 9, 2025, Published November 9, 2025 – By Editorial staff
The artist Markus Andersson holds up a painting of Daniel Wretström, who became a victim and symbol of anti-Swedish violence.
3 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The young nationalist Daniel Wretström was brutally assaulted and stabbed to death in a ditch on December 9, 2000, in Salem, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, by a gang of immigrants.

The murderer Khaled Odeh, who slit the throat of the 17-year-old, and his four accomplices all escaped prison sentences, and the murder has become symbolic of the increased anti-Swedish violence in Sweden.

Now a memorial demonstration is being held on December 6, 25 years after his murder, which aroused strong revulsion among young Swedes.

The murder of Wretström occurred at a time when Swedish media the year before had exposed 62 people as nazis and a "threat to democracy." Prime Minister Göran Persson and other leading Social Democrats promised in major media statements the same year as the murder to "crush" the racists.

Mass immigration to Sweden had at that time seriously begun to affect the country's demographic composition, creating deep ethnic and cultural divisions while the pursued policy was driven in the direction of systematically transforming one of the world's most homogeneous countries into a multicultural society.

The policy, which was declared by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme as early as 1975 and which from the 1990s was seriously driven from the highest political level, contributed to increased insecurity and became the starting point for the gang violence that has today spiraled out of control and made Sweden one of Europe's most unsafe countries.

The counter-reaction, primarily among Sweden's youth who were earliest affected by the insecurity and societal transformation, became an increased nationalism. The development gained momentum in a national movement that encompassed both politics, culture, music and other expressions with emphasis on patriotism, the preservation of Swedishness and an increased national self-awareness with demands to stop mass immigration.

Swedish mass media were a driving force in the same direction as the government with the transformation of Sweden toward multiculturalism and contributed to demonizing all expressions and reactions against this direction, which promoted subcultures and diminished the legitimacy of all forms of resistance. The mass media's actions also contributed to holding back nationalist parties like the Sweden Democrats in public opinion and drove unserious individuals into organizations working for national self-preservation.

Young Swedes who reacted against the development lacked channels and were demonized as "xenophobic," which strongly drove polarization and spurred young immigrants to threats and acts of violence against Swedes.

The young nationalist Daniel Wretström became a victim of the political and media campaign and was murdered in Salem, a Stockholm suburb, which came to be symbolic of the increased anti-Swedish violence in Sweden. In his memory, a torch-lit procession was organized and the so-called Salem Demonstration gathered thousands of Swedes annually during the early 2000s, primarily younger people.

On December 6, 25 years after the murder, a demonstration is once again being arranged to honor the memory of the murdered young nationalist. The organizer writes on their website that the demonstration is politically independent. As with the demonstrations of the 2000s, participants gather at Rönninge commuter train station to march to the place where Wretström lost his life.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/bullying-doubled-in-sweden-one-in-six-girls-affected/

Sweden

Bullying doubled in Sweden – one in six girls affected

Published November 8, 2025 – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Three students in every classroom are estimated to be victims of bullying, according to a new report from Friends, a Swedish anti-bullying organization. The organization is now raising the alarm that Sweden has the worst record in the Nordic region and argues that the government's school reform lacks the preventive measures needed to reverse the trend.

The new Friends report is based on a survey conducted by Novus during spring, in which 1,026 students aged 9-16 (grades 4-9) participated. The findings show that bullying continues to be a widespread problem in Swedish schools. Six out of ten students report having experienced some form of harassment, threats, or violence this year.

On average, three students per class are victims of bullying, and four out of ten do not feel comfortable at school. Although the majority of students believe that teachers take action against bullying, one in three still feel that adults turn a blind eye. One in four affected students also report that they lack a trusted adult at school.

According to Maja Frankel, secretary general of Friends, bullying in Sweden has doubled over the past decade.

— We have the worst record in the Nordic region. We don't prioritize children's rights highly enough. If we want to turn this around, schools need resources to invest time in prevention – before something happens, not when it's too late. That costs money. We need more trusted adults in schools, says Maja Frankel in Nyhetsmorgon, a Swedish morning news program.

Girls most affected

Girls are particularly affected, with one in six girls experiencing bullying compared to one in nine boys. There are also differences in how they are affected: girls are more exposed to relational bullying – such as social exclusion, spreading rumors, peer pressure, or harassment of a sexual nature. Boys are more exposed to physical violence.

The Swedish government is currently implementing one of the largest reforms in the country's education system in thirty years, but Friends argues that the proposals fall short and lack preventive measures.

— The proposals we're seeing right now are truly a betrayal of children. It's not about forcing safety through punishment or achieving better results through stricter measures. It's about protecting children and building warm, secure relationships, says Frankel.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com