With faked internal emails from the newly appointed director general, a criminal scheme succeeded in deceiving the Growth Agency of over eight million kroner, reports Dagens Nyheter.
It was during the autumn of 2022 that the authority was exposed to the fraud.
Fraudsters sent fake invoices from a fictitious company, claiming they hadn’t been paid for work done. At the same time, the finance unit received emails that appeared to come from the newly appointed Director General Elisabeth Backteman – previously responsible for the government’s crisis coordination – in which she seemed to confirm that the payments would be made.
– This incident is of course both unpleasant and serious, she tells DN.
A total of nine invoices totaling SEK 8.3 million were paid to a bank account in London.
The incident was reported to the police, but the preliminary investigation was closed in March with reference to the fact that the crime was committed abroad and that evidence is not available in Sweden.