The proposal comes from the government's investigators, who were tasked with proposing rules to discourage foreign funding of religious communities and other organizations with links to Islamism, extremism and other anti-democratic environments.
We want to protect a free and open society, we want to protect democracy, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M).
Investigator Michael Målqvist has also tried to map the extent of the foreign funding - and it involves large amounts.
The data we have access to shows that the influx from abroad into religious activities is significantly greater than we thought, he says.
Billions
Using bank information, it can be seen that religious communities have received SEK 3.5 billion from abroad during the period 2020–2025, mostly from European countries and the USA.
Foreign funding to non-profit associations, foundations and religious communities engaged in humanitarian activities was even greater, amounting to SEK 21 billion in 2020–2025.
The investigator has also looked at organizations that, according to government decisions, do not meet democratic conditions and concluded that nine "problematic" recipients have received a total of SEK 70 million.
However, banking secrecy, among other things, prevents the investigation from identifying who sent the money, and it has therefore been difficult to establish the purpose. Målqvist states that foreign financing is essentially unproblematic, but emphasizes that the sums involved are large.
An official investigation is required to determine the purpose, he says.
Foreign funding from the Middle East appears to be low in the survey. But both the investigator and Gunnar Strömmer emphasize that money can be funneled through different countries before reaching Sweden.
Should be able to be stopped
The investigator proposes that amounts exceeding SEK 150,000 from foreign financiers should be reported to the review authority MUCF. The financing should be prohibited if it is considered to have a detrimental effect on Sweden's security and public order.
Gunnar Strömmer points to the threat from both states and extremists and mentions, among other things, that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Russian Orthodox Church have tried to gain influence in Sweden.
He does not want to comment on whether the investigator's proposal is good, but says that it should now be referred.
I want to wait and see what other actors have to say about it before we take a final position.
This is what the investigator suggests:
Amounts of over SEK 150,000 from foreign financiers to religious communities, foundations and associations must be reported to a review authority.
Financing shall be prohibited if it is considered to have a detrimental effect on Sweden's security and public order.
MUCF shall be the reviewing authority. They shall be able to seek assistance from CVE if necessary.
It shall also be a criminal offence to receive foreign funding of over SEK 150,000 without reporting it, or to provide incorrect information about such funding.
The penalty for the crime of unlawful receipt of foreign funding shall be imprisonment for a maximum of two years. In the case of a felony, the penalty is proposed to be a maximum of six years.
A sanction fee of between SEK 25,000 and SEK 25 million may also be imposed on the religious community or civil organization.
The rules will enter into force on January 1, 2028.
Source: Government Offices
