The now 66-year-old man was charged on Wednesday with gross unauthorized position with secret information.
He is suspected for a long period of having top-secret defense information in his apartment outside Stockholm and mapping a large number of sensitive military facilities.
– He has previously had military assignments, says senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, at the National Security Unit, without wanting to elaborate.
The prosecutor has called the mapping extensive, systematic and “almost professional”. The security police, Säpo, has conducted the preliminary investigation due to the risk to national security.
– As an individual, if you look at the size of the possession, it is one of the biggest cases of this crime we have had. There is a lot of material in relation to previous prosecutions, says Mats Ljungqvist.
Säpotatlag six years ago
The investigation shows that the 66-year-old was suspected of the crime in question over six years ago and that Säpo has since investigated him.
– In 2017, the Security Police searched this man’s home and found large amounts of material, and then the preliminary investigation began.
How did the Säpo man find out?
– I don’t want to say anything about that with regard to our subway rules. He came up on our radar and that led to the search.
The man has been taken in for questioning at Säpo for several years and a total of 40 items were seized from his home. But the prosecutor does not want to answer what delayed the investigation or why it took over six years to bring charges.
– For various reasons, I cannot go into what has been investigated during this time or the specific circumstances surrounding it and what has caused the prosecution to be delayed. I’m just stating that the prosecution is based on this crackdown that took place in 2017, says Mats Ljungqvist.
– There has been an active preliminary investigation. We have implemented a wide range of measures, as far as I can tell. Work has been going on during these years.
Had networks around him
In recent years, several people have been prosecuted for similar crimes after mapping defense facilities in Sweden and sharing the information on secret forums. According to the prosecutor, the case with the 66-year-old has no connection to the previous cases.
– But in the network or group of people that existed around this man, there was someone who had connections to this forum and was also convicted for it. But this man has no such connection, but he is charged for the position and compilation of the material, says Ljungqvist and continues:
– Material has been acquired for quite a long time and other people have done it. There are links to people who have been doing this for quite some time.
Prosecutor: Absolutely supreme realm
Ljungqvist does not want to state which secret and sensitive military objects have been mapped. He states, however, that experts within the Armed Forces have made a so-called risk assessment, where they check how serious the consequences of the mapping may be.
– The assessment is confidential, but it is in the absolute highest sphere, you could say. Where somewhere in that realm I can’t say, but it belongs to one of the higher minds we’ve seen in this type of case.
The motive for the compilation of the classified information is not clear, but the prosecutor has a theory that he does not yet want to go out with.
In questioning, the man admits that it is not good if the information is spread.
Säpo: What is the situation if the defense secret is cleared?
The 66-year-old: Yes, it is clearly inappropriate.
Säpo: What might the effect be for Sweden or for us?
The 66-year-old: Well, then you’ve screwed up the blue cupboard, so to speak.
– He denies the crime and otherwise has no comments, says lawyer Per Larsson, who represents the accused.