When inspectors from the Swedish embassy in Congo-Kinshasa visit the office of the organization they paid out 50 million kroner, they get an unpleasant surprise. The Swedish million dollar aid should have created an extensive business. But instead the inspectors find themselves in a ghost office. In their report on April 27, 2023, they write:
“There are desks in every room, but surprisingly little paper on them. The impression is that there is not much work going on in the office.”
SEK 35 million has disappeared
It soon becomes clear that SEK 35 million, which should have gone to vulnerable people, is gone. All-terrain vehicles purchased for the business have also disappeared. Only just over a quarter of the money seems to have been used in the organization according to the auditing firm KPMG, which writes:
“Of the total amount received (USD 4,453,970.77), only a total amount of USD 1,192,449.18 (approximately 27 percent) has been verified and satisfactorily documented by KPMG”
Police report a year later
Almost exactly a year after the field visit, Sida’s director general Jakob Granit sends in a formal police report about suspected corruption. Sida has also demanded the money back.
At the center of the corruption scandal is the suspected head of Sida, who has been in custody. He was responsible for the aid project, but denies any wrongdoing. The suspicions against him remain.
People with insight that SVT spoke to are now asking themselves how so much money could disappear. And why Sida waited to make the report. SVT has sought Sida, which declined an interview.
See the feature in the player above