Every year, billions of Swedish kronor leak from the welfare system to organized crime, raising concerns that taxpayer money is also funding gang violence.
Criminologist Alberto Chrysoulakis and Carina Gunnarson, associate professor of political science, warn that organized crime poses a serious threat to our welfare systems.
Alberto Chrysoulakis, PhD in criminology and lecturer at Malmö University, notes that Swedish institutions are vulnerable to infiltration and corruption, often linked to criminal gangs.
– Although not everything has to be linked to criminal networks, one can expect that some of it is, Chrysoulakis said in an interview with forskning.se.
The Swedish Financial Management Authority (Ekonomistyrningsverket) estimates that the losses from incorrect payments will be between 13 and 16 billion SEK (€1.1 billion – €1.4 billion) in 2021. Carina Gunnarson, an associate professor of political science at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, points out that welfare crimes can include manipulation of time schedules, incorrect subsidies and various forms of corruption.
– The welfare sector is an area where we know that a lot of money goes missing, says Gunnarson.
Gunnarson emphasizes that changes in welfare systems and the introduction of the Law on Freedom of Choice (LOV) have increased vulnerability by creating space for both legitimate and rogue actors. She argues that such reforms can often lead to corruption.
– Reforms are generally a risk factor for corruption, and here we have a reform without sufficient development of the control systems, she points out.
Project Omega
In the ongoing Forte-funded research project Project Omega, Chrysoulakis is investigating the link between wealth crime and other crimes. By analyzing data from encrypted chats and convictions, he hopes to gain a deeper understanding of how criminal networks operate and how welfare crime can contribute to their income.
– This will provide a unique insight into the flow of information within criminal networks, says Chrysoulakis.
Both Chrysoulakis and Gunnarson warn that welfare crime can undermine trust in the state and democracy if nothing is done. Gunnarson emphasizes the importance of cooperation between authorities and being proactive before problems escalate.
– We need to have resources and the right working methods, and cooperation between different authorities. The lesson is to act in time, before it goes too far.
