Against large sums of money, Peyman Kia, 44, infiltrated some of Sweden’s secret room on behalf of Russia.
After the life sentence, the message came that he does not have to tax the spy compensation.
But now the District Court cancels the decision – the spy gets a tax strike.
The spy heritage has been described as one of the worst in Swedish history.
For several years, Peyman Kia was Russia’s spy inside the security police and military intelligence and security service (MUST), where he was employed. He sold top secret documents from some of the most sensitive parts of the authorities – to the Russian intelligence service GRU.
After Peyman Kia was sentenced to life imprisonment for gross espionage, while his little brother received just over nine years in prison, the Swedish Tax Agency demanded that the spy be taxed for the Russian salary. According to the High Court, it is established that Peyman Kia received US dollars equivalent to approximately SEK 1.2 million.
“Connected to an achievement”
The decision was appealed to the Administrative Court – which announced that Peyman Kia does not have to tax money that comes from violations of the state’s security. It was referred to a case from 1991.
Now the higher instance, the District Court, the judgment. Peyman Kia’s GRU salary is taxable.
“The compensation is thus linked to an performance that Peyman Kia performed and is therefore attributable to the income type service,” the court writes.
– The Income Tax Act is based on the principle that all income should be taxed. There is no exception for criminal activities. Therefore, the compensation that a person convicted of gross espionage has received from foreign power must be taxed in the same way as income from legal activities, says the House of Appeal Annika Lowén.
Peyman Kia is locked up in an isolated department at the Kumlaanstalten.