It was at the beginning of 2021 that Ali signed the lease agreement for a condominium on Malmvägen in Sollentuna in Stockholm, reports Home & Rent.
“Ali”, as the newspaper chooses to call him, wants to remain anonymous and is actually called something else. He heard from a person he had known for many years that the tenancy was to be transformed into a condominium. He therefore thought to strike and make a clip, according to the newspaper.
He applied for a loan for the home, which would cost 1.9 million, and was granted it.
What Ali did not know was that his acquaintance, who managed the business, was not really in charge of the condominium association, as he had pretended to be. He had promised Ali to arrange all the documents, and assured him that the deal could be done.
Ali signed the lease in the hope of moving out to his new apartment soon.
– Everything looked good. I trusted the bank and thought everything was as it should be, he says to Hem & Hyra.
The money was paid to the wrong account
The months passed and in September 2021, Ali received a letter from the district court. The letter stated that the bank that granted the home loan sued him for misleading the bank.
The bank had paid out the money to a beneficiary account, unknown to Ali, and now demanded the sum back.
The money thus never ended up in the condominium association’s bank account, but with Ali’s “friend”, the police investigation showed. Ali finally reported the “friend” to the police for gross fraud.
Fell into depression
The elderly man who lived in the tenement did not know what was going on around his apartment.
The incident led Ali to suffer acute depression, and he was left by his wife.
– It felt as if my life was over. I thought I would never be able to repay such an amount, he tells the newspaper.
According to Hem & Hyra, the bank manager responsible for Ali’s loan application has admitted that he did not check the condominium association’s name and organization number when the money was transferred.
Claimed at half a million
In January, the bank and Ali met in court and were able to reach a settlement. Instead of paying back the entire sum, Ali must pay half a million kroner to the bank. This for having applied for a loan for a condominium that did not exist.
He gets a year and has to pay SEK 40,000 a month.
– It is money that I have paid for nothing, says Ali to the newspaper.