Economic crime has grown strongly in Sweden in recent years, and Swedish society is paying the price.
According to estimates, criminals earn SEK 100 billion to 150 billion (€8.8 billion to €13.2 billion) annually in Sweden, reports Swedish state television SVT. A new police report says the crime economy is taking a huge toll on society.
That money, if diverted to the real economy, could triple the child allowance for all Swedish families with children, notes the report. Annika Öhmark, coordinator of criminal economy in police region East says things will be getting worse before they get better, although she remains optimistic about the future.
In addition to the black market money creating unhealthy competition, the growing criminal economy is also directly connected to the increase in murders, shootings and explosions Sweden has seen in recent years.
Fraud is estimated to be the biggest source of income for criminal gangs, who use extortion and threats to collect fictitious fines or debts. Last year, around 9,000 extortion crimes were reported, 30 percent more than in 2022.
Öhmark says that “they trick others into helping with money laundering.” A video clip on the portal tells about how a business couple Norrköping defrauded 15 people, all elderly and disabled, out of several million Swedish krona, using the money to buy luxury items or pay off debts to criminal gangs.
A new law is expected to be passed in November that will give the police new tools to recover the proceeds of crime from criminals.
“We know that if we arrest one person, there are several waiting in line to take over, so we need to continue working against the networks and we need to cooperate with other actors both externally and internally,” says Öhmark.
Money laundering is also an issue, with the Ecocrime Agency estimating that 130 billion Swedish krona (€11.4 billion) is laundered in Sweden every year. Police say money laundering saw a 24 percent spike between 2022 and 2023 alone.
