Every third person in the criminal environment has had a connection to the business world. Many of them also work in socially sensitive activities. This is shown by a new report from the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
– We can now see that it is significantly more comprehensive and more refined, says Fredrik Erfelt, business policy expert at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
In the report “Criminal entrepreneurs” the connections of organized crime to the business world have been studied. The result shows that every third person had a connection to a company.
It is within the mafia and motorcycle gangs that most of the business connections are found, the report shows. Many of the gang criminals in these environments also work in socially sensitive businesses.
The study includes 12,768 people who the Swedish Police Agency deems to be part of organized crime in Sweden. Of these, 34 percent have had corporate involvement, such as a board member in a company.
– It is easy to get the impression that organized crime is above all drug trafficking carried out by young people from marginalized areas, but we can now see that it is considerably more extensive and more refined, says Fredrik Erfelt, business policy expert with responsibility for security at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce .
– Crime is often carried out in corporate form within a variety of industries, and the negative consequences are, in the long run, system-threatening, he continues.
Political positions of trust
About eight percent of people in the gang criminal environment have had employment in socially sensitive professions and 0.4 percent of the people studied have held political positions of trust, according to the report.
The study also shows that Stockholm is the region with the most gang criminals compared to the rest of the country, in terms of population.
– Crime seeks the cities’ large economies, but it is none the less serious that Stockholm has become a wasp’s nest of organized criminals. It makes it more difficult to start and run a business and disrupts healthy competition.
– When a large part of the business world plays by its own rules and is backed by violent capital, the Swedish economy is hit very hard.
Suggests actions
The report proposes several measures to counter organized crime’s infiltration of the business world. Among other things, the business community should participate more in the fight against organized crime, through better coordination and collaboration with authorities.
The authors of the report also suggest that a “business council” be established in each region – and at national level. This is to facilitate cooperation and information exchange.