A few years ago, Expressen revealed that a Russian businessman with links to the Russian state had bought a beach plot very close to the defence facility on Muskö in the Stockholm archipelago.
In recent years, construction of a large holiday home - more than 600 square metres and with a large excavated basement - has been underway on the site.
Now the Swedish Armed Forces want to take over the high-profile property, which is formally owned by the businessman's wife, who has both Russian and Swedish citizenship. According to the authority, the property is needed to strengthen the defence of the Muskö base, primarily against drones.
The Swedish Fortifications Agency has therefore applied to expropriate - that is, to forcibly acquire - the property.
There are several different parts that interact, says Lieutenant General Carl-Johan Edström, Chief of the Defence Staff.
Part of that is the serious security situation. Another part is the development of Russian drone warfare and how it is changing the threat landscape against us.
“A security threat”
The property's geographical location is central to Muskö's protection, according to Carl-Johan Edström. However, the ownership situation is also part of the background.
The Russian-Swedish couple has owned the property, with just over 1.8 hectares of land and approximately the same amount of water area, since 2017.
In its application, the Swedish Fortifications Agency writes that the Swedish Armed Forces' assessment is that the owner and her husband pose a security threat and that Russia would have "great operational benefit" from them being allowed to keep the property.
The application has been submitted to the government, which will now handle the matter. According to Minister of Defence Pål Jonson, it is a priority matter.
"We cannot of course comment on the individual case. But we will prioritise this application as it is linked to the development of total defence and it is important that it happens quickly," he says.
“Growing problem”
Since the Russian-linked purchase of Muskö became known, an investigation has, among other things, presented proposals for tighter control of foreign property acquisitions in Sweden.
At the beginning of the summer, the government appointed another investigation, with the aim of making it easier for the state to take over - expropriate - properties that are at risk of being used to threaten Sweden's security.
There is definitely a growing problem linked to intelligence gathering against Sweden and Swedish interests over time, says Pål Jonson.
Therefore, we also need more powerful instruments to be able to manage the threats, risks and vulnerabilities associated with it.
