The process has not been about the upper echelon, but about those who perform practical actions. It is gratifying that it has been clarified, but the investigation is ongoing regarding the decision-making leadership. However, this can be seen as a first step towards redress once and for all, says Joachim Kuylenstierna via his legal representative Jonas Granfelt.
"The trial was special since the one or those behind the extortion were not prosecuted. However, it is clear, among other things through the presented chat logs and the hearings with the plaintiffs, that the extortion attempt is extremely serious," says the presiding judge Peter Grym in a press release.
Five Sentenced to Prison
Two young men with ties to the Vårby network are sentenced for aiding and abetting attempted aggravated extortion and aiding and abetting unlawful threats. The sentence is imprisonment for 2 years and 4 months, respectively 1 year and 6 months, for having mapped out the company executive and his colleagues as well as their relatives.
A 25-year-old is sentenced for aiding and abetting attempted aggravated extortion and arson to imprisonment. Two other men are sentenced for aiding and abetting arson to imprisonment.
In addition to the extortion scandal, two other men are sentenced for, among other things, accounting fraud.
A lawyer and an entrepreneur are acquitted of aiding and abetting attempted aggravated extortion but are sentenced to imprisonment for aggravated accounting fraud.
Prosecutor Jerker Asplund may appeal the district court's verdict regarding the lawyer and entrepreneur, as he believes the sentences are lower than his assessment.
Extorted for Millions
The case concerns an extortion attempt against financier Joachim Kuylenstierna and his former colleagues.
In October 2023, Kuylenstierna, who was then CEO of Fastator, was extorted to pay a claimed debt of 100 million kronor. Both Kuylenstierna and his close colleagues received threats, and one of the colleagues' villas was allegedly subjected to an arson attack in November.
The one who is alleged to have been behind the extortion attempt is Jonas Falk, who in 2010 was identified as the main suspect in the large drug scandal "Operation Playa". For this, he was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment for cocaine smuggling from Colombia, but was acquitted in 2014 by the court of appeal.
After suspicions of involvement in the extortion attempt, Falk was arrested in Spain in August this year and has been detained since then. In October 2024, he was extradited to Sweden and arrested on suspicion of attempted aggravated extortion and aiding and abetting aggravated arson.
The background to the extortion attempts is, according to the prosecutor, a multimillion investment made in 2009 in a company linked to Kuylenstierna.
It did not go as expected, and the investor lost money. One of the persons who, according to the prosecutor, was involved in the investment was Jonas Falk.
