Half of the reviewed assistance companies involved in criminal activities

To find out how bad the situation really is in the assistance industry, the police have reviewed 166 companies. The result is discouraging – especially when it comes to the limited companies that have been granted permits in recent years. At the same time, it is noted that organized crime has become increasingly skilled in its setups and that more in-depth measures are required.

The cases of fraud and connections to organized crime have been numerous within the assistance industry, and new scandals emerge regularly. The police’s survey has been conducted as part of a joint authority report titled Companies as criminal tools in the assistance industry.

In the joint national effort against organized crime, the following authorities are involved: the Employment Service, the Economic Crime Authority, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the Swedish Coast Guard, the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish Pensions Agency, the Police Authority, the Swedish Tax Agency, the Swedish Security Service, the Swedish Customs, the Swedish Payout Agency, and the Swedish Prosecution Authority. Twelve network authorities also participate through information exchange, strategic cooperation, and involvement in certain operational efforts.

– We have long known that extensive criminal activities take place within personal assistance. But now we know that the extent is much greater than we previously believed. And also that the criminal activities are largely organized by those who run companies in the industry, says Jens Ahlstrand, head of the intelligence unit in the West police region.

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In total, 166 companies have been reviewed, and half of them are used for criminal activities by their company managements. Looking at the approximately 100 companies that have been granted permits in the last four years, the proportion rises to 70 percent. Several of the companies have connections to well-known criminal networks, and this happens, according to Ahlstrand, despite the fact that the Health and Social Care Inspectorate, Ivo, rejects high proportions of all new permit applications submitted.

When a company applies for permission to provide assistance, the representatives are checked against the criminal record, and once the company is approved, the submitted time reports and financial statements are reviewed. In cases where the representatives are figureheads and the time reporting consists of fabricated evidence, such inspections are described as toothless, as organized crime is too skilled to be caught in that type of control.

Too skilled

One of the conclusions in the report is that focusing on supervision of the companies performing the assistance and the individuals leading them is likely to have a greater effect in reducing crime than just measures against individual assistants’ or users’ criminal activities.

– Organized crime is far too skilled to be stopped by the controls currently carried out. In order to pinpoint actors who are solely active in carrying out large-scale welfare fraud against the state and municipalities, supervision of the companies would need to be much more thorough. At the same time, such supervision needs to be economically justifiable and respect the users’ integrity, says Jens Ahlstrand.

Today, there are around 850 active permits for companies and associations to provide personal assistance with funding from the state and municipalities. Around 700 permits are held by limited companies. The assistance can be provided by individuals employed by the user, by the municipality, or by companies or associations.