We're talking about oligarchs, we're talking about people who conduct business with high-ranking Russian individuals. Then we also find companies with ties to Russian organized crime, says Veronica Netz, researcher at Acta publica, to Sveriges Radio Ekot.
The investigation has been conducted by taking a closer look at the ownership structure of 124 companies that have previously been revealed to have Russian connections.
This is just scratching the surface, in relation to Russian companies and Russian interests in Sweden. If we were to conduct a quantitative investigation to expand this process, we would find an enormous amount more, says Jörgen Holmlund, teacher in intelligence analysis at the Defence University, to the radio.
The Russian state apparatus often uses companies and corporate fronts to gather information and intelligence, and according to Holmlund, there is a close connection between Russian organized crime and the state.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text, an incorrect figure was given for the number of companies with ties to Russia.
