Corruption brokers are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon in Sweden, the police warn in a new report. These brokers mediate contact between bribe givers and receivers in exchange for a share of the profits.
– It is a more industrial and professional way of using bribes in society, says Natali Engstam-Phalén, specialist at the Police’s national anti-corruption group.
Every year around a hundred corruption crimes are reported to the police. But the dark story is big, according to Engstam-Phalén.
– There is probably a big discrepancy between that figure and reality. Above all, it is important to understand that we have new clouds of worry in the corruption sky, she says.
One of these clouds of concern is the so-called corruption brokers. They act as intermediaries and take part of the bribe in exchange for brokering contacts between the parties involved.
Broker in several sectors
Corruption brokers have been discovered, among other things, in car inspections, where vehicles have been approved without even having been in the workshop. The police are now warning that the phenomenon is spreading to other sectors, including the banking system.
– The worrying thing about this is that it is clearly a more industrial and professional way of using bribes in society. Organized crime can use this as a tool to get into key functions of our democratic society, says Natali Engstam-Phalén.