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The MP leader Leila Ali Elmi has had 17 payment orders from the Crown Bailiff during her time as a Member of Parliament.
Because of the debts, the Kronofogden has made decisions on both collection and seizure during the mandate period.
“I will really get better at paying bills on time,” she writes in a comment to Aftonbladet.
Leila Ali Elmi (MP) has had a meteoric career within the Green Party. In 2018, she was elected to the Riksdag, and last year she was elected to the party leadership. In the 2022 election, she is in seventh place on the Green Party’s parliamentary list.
She is a member of the labor market committee, but also a deputy in the tax committee, which prepares matters concerning, among other things, state and municipal taxes, tax payment and civil registration. As a member of the Riksdag, she has a basic salary of SEK 71,500 a month.
Aftonbladet has reviewed the documents at the Kronofogden for all those who are in the first five places on the parties’ parliamentary lists.
There, it appears that Leila Ali Elmi has had a total of 17 payment orders with the Kronofogden since 2019.
A payment order means that a company contacts the Kronofogden and requests that someone owes them money. In that situation, the Kronofogden has not taken a position on whether the demand is right or wrong. If the parties resolve it, the case is dismissed.
One of the 17 cases has gone so far that the Norwegian Enforcement Agency has decided on collection, but the debt was paid before the Norwegian Enforcement Agency had to take any measures.
In addition to that, the Swedish Enforcement Agency has also decided on a seizure, which means that they take back money or sell belongings. The garnishment concerned a debt with CSN of SEK 3,279, in April 2020.
Ongoing case – four unpaid invoices
Aftonbladet has been looking for Leila Ali Elmi for several days without her return, but on Wednesday she left a comment via her press secretary.
“I think you should pay your bills on time and this is not something I am proud of. I have no debt, and the payment orders are taken care of, but I really need to get better at paying bills on time.”
Leila Ali Elmi has zero kroner in debt with the Crown Bailiff today, but has an ongoing payment order. It concerns a sum of SEK 1,480 that the municipality of Gothenburg has requested that she pay, but the Kronofogden has requested a supplement from the municipality of Gothenburg.
The bailiff wants to emphasize that that sum may change, which is not unusual when there is a supplement.
To Aftonbladet, Leila Ali Elmi’s press secretary says that the debt has been paid, but Gothenburg municipality claims that it is a total of four unpaid invoices of SEK 250 each.
Is on the list in Malmö – has SEK 53,300 in debt
Emma Wennerholm is a leisure politician for the Left Party in Höganäs, and is in fourth place on the Left Party’s parliamentary list in Skåne County West.
She has a current debt of SEK 53,300 to the Kronofogden, which comes from her having taken out a mobile phone loan.
– What I’m thinking is, of course, that it’s not good. As I said, it is my personal finances. I’m working on it, and getting the hang of it.
She receives help and support from the municipality. She does not think it will affect her confidence as a politician.
– I don’t think so, as long as you are honest that it can happen to anyone, even if you are a leisure politician. It can happen to anyone, she says.
The reason for the loan was that she took out a loan to pay another loan, which resulted in a bad financial situation. She points out that she has support from family and friends
– I have put myself in this situation and am honest that I am working to pay back, she says.
The researcher: “No merit”
When a politician has debts or is careless with his personal finances, trust can be affected, says Bengt Johansson, media researcher at the University of Gothenburg.
– It’s no merit to have it, if you say so, he says.
In Sweden, there is a low tolerance for financial scandals, that you don’t have a handle on your personal finances or if you are cheating, says Bengt Johansson.
– In Sweden, it is the taxpayers’ money that is important to keep track of. That is what scandalizes Sweden.