In a new report, the police and several other authorities conclude that gang members and people connected to them have entered all parts of the welfare system where private actors are allowed.
By using companies as criminal tools, organized crime figures can embezzle large sums of money from welfare systems.
In the education sector, it may involve having children enrolled in family daycare or preschool who do not actually attend - and still receiving preschool benefits for them from the municipality. The children may have moved abroad or be at home with their parents.
“Pure criminal profits”
They can get at least 14,000 kronor per month and per child for providing school activities, even though they don't actually have any costs. It's pure criminal profit, says Richard Öhman, national problem-area manager at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and spokesperson for the report.
This also occurs at after-school centers, which may have a large number of students enrolled who do not participate. There are also examples of schools cheating on government grants through fake homework help projects or alleged recess supervisors.
Other examples include dental practices and health centers that systematically bill for fictitious patients. It is also common for unscrupulous healthcare providers to team up with pharmacies to be able to dispense large quantities of medication, such as narcotics, without being reported to IVO.
When even doctors, a trusted profession, collude with pharmacists and health centers to commit this type of organized crime, we are in a serious situation, says Öhman.
Sheltered accommodation
The report also highlights that criminals have run sheltered housing. There are also indications that people with connections to gangs work in or run dropout operations that have contracts with the Swedish Prison and Probation Service. HVB homes are also vulnerable, which the police raised the alarm about as early as 2024.
The report does not contain figures on how widespread welfare crime is, but it is estimated that between 15 and 20 billion SEK is paid out incorrectly every year from state welfare systems alone.
Where there is room for organized crime to act, they will try to obtain compensation on false grounds, says Öhman.
They are everywhere and among us. We all need to raise our awareness of the problem.
