Earlier this year, several criminal proceedings were commenced and judgments delivered concerning economic crime linked to serious organised crime. The Swedish Economic Crime Authority paints a bleak picture of how economic crime has changed in different ways in 2025. Among other things, the use of skilled facilitators and companies to commit crimes has had an adverse impact on developments. Another change is that economic crime is now often an integral part of other organised crime.
The Authority notes that society as a whole needs to increase its resilience against economic crime. It is inevitable that, as economic crime becomes more prevalent, this will lead to an increased risk of companies coming into contact with crime in various ways. This is particularly true for companies operating in sectors that are currently of most interest to criminals.
Crime affects companies in different ways. It can involve attacks on the company by people outside the organisation, insiders or enablers within the organisation who assist criminals, or problems in business relationships with criminal companies.
The Swedish Economic Crime Authority describes seven changes that have affected economic crime:
1. It is becoming increasingly common for criminals to use companies as tools for the commission of crime.
2. There is now a clear overlap between economic crime and other organised crime.
3. There is a shift from criminals committing benefit fraud to criminals owning companies within the welfare system and abusing the system by, for example, invoicing for work that has not been performed.
4. The need for specific knowledge and so-called enablers has increased.
5. Instead of seeking insiders in a particular sector, it has become more common for criminals to start their own companies within that sector, such as finance or debt collection companies.
6. The increased use of cryptocurrencies makes it more difficult to follow and trace money.
7. It is becoming increasingly common for criminals to engage in workplace crime.
According to the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, economic crime exists wherever there is an opportunity to make money. However, certain industries are currently of particular interest to criminals. These include:
· Banks and credit institutions
· Construction and infrastructure projects
· Real estate
· The financial market
· Neobanks
· The welfare sector
Each business sector has its own advantages and attractions for criminals. Banks and credit institutions provide loans and credit, which can enable fraud and money laundering. It is also possible to launder money through bank accounts.
Large construction and infrastructure projects have a history of attracting criminal activity in various forms, including unreported taxes, poor accounting, unauthorised labour and exploitation of welfare systems. Buying, selling or owning real estate can be a good way for criminals to launder money or invest the proceeds of crime.
Neobanks, i.e. financial companies that offer entirely digital banking services, are attractive to criminals as it may be easier to become a customer of such a bank and have access to speedy transactions between different accounts and countries. It is now well known that organised crime is prevalent in the welfare sector where private companies are permitted, including in care companies.
Money laundering is, of course, also a major problem. According to the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, there are money laundering schemes that enable the laundering of criminal proceeds on an almost industrial scale. These schemes launder several billion Swedish kronor every year.
In order for organised crime to launder money and thus integrate the proceeds of crime into the legal economy, the use of companies is crucial. Companies make it possible to carry out large transactions, including with the help of false invoices.
The Swedish Economic Crime Authority has compiled examples of vulnerabilities in society that may affect the development of criminal activity. These include the difficulty of obtaining information about companies and their representatives, the use of false identities, as well as weak spots in the public procurement system and the management of procurement.
Vinge’s economic crime specialists provide advice on how companies and other organisations can counteract the risks of falling victim to increasing criminal activity, or mitigate the potential consequences of such crime, by:
· Being aware that economic crime is becoming more prevalent and taking new forms.
· Identifying whether your business belongs to a sector that is particularly vulnerable to crime – or whether your business may be of interest to criminals in other ways.
· Regularly reviewing and updating internal guidelines and procedures for detecting irregularities within and outside the organisation.
· Carrying out relevant checks during recruitment procedures.
· Conducting checks on partners and other business relationships, both new and current.
· In the event of suspected irregularities, consider conducting an internal investigation and/or reporting the matter to the police.
· Act quickly – but not too quickly. It is better to think before you act.
· In the event of an incident, investigate what went wrong and which internal processes need to be improved upon.
Vinge has specialists with many years of experience of combating economic crime and assisting clients, both with preventive work as well as in conducting internal investigations after suspected irregularities have occurred. We also provide advice to companies in any subsequent legal proceedings.
