Luxury cars worth millions seized from criminal

Last year, the police seized two cars with an estimated value of around 2.5 million SEK in accordance with the legislation on autonomous forfeiture. Now, the district court has ruled that the cars originate from criminal activity and therefore should be forfeited.

The law on autonomous forfeiture came into force in November 2024 and enables the police to seize assets of criminal origin from criminals. The property does not need to be linked to any specific crime or criminal proceeds in order to be seized and forfeited.

The police believe that the law can make it easier to target individuals higher up in the criminal networks who earn large sums of money, for example through fraud and drug trafficking.

In the fall of 2024, the police seized two luxury cars in Botkyrka municipality. Now, the verdict has been reached and the district court deems that the cars should be forfeited. The forfeiture is directed at the registered car owner, who is judged to have a close connection to organized crime and has previously been part of a criminal network.

The case stands out in that the cars were not purchased on credit and were registered to the rightful owner, who did not have an income corresponding to the value of the cars.

Generous friends

During the investigation, it was claimed that both cars had been involved in accidents when purchased and that the owner had therefore acquired them at a reduced price. Extensive work had then been done to restore the vehicles to a good condition. The owner is said to have financed the renovations through money from several pawn loans, including gold, bank loans, and loans from friends. The repairs to the cars had been carried out by the man’s friends, who did not charge for their services.

However, the investigation showed that many of the pawnshop loans had been paid by other individuals. There were also uncertainties regarding the car purchases, and some of the spare parts had been paid for with cards belonging to other people. The man claimed that he owed money to several individuals but could not provide any documentation of the debts.

Originating from criminal activity

Overall, the district court concluded that it is significantly more likely that the cars originate from criminal activity than that they do not, and that both cars should be forfeited.

“It is important that the police work against criminal economy. This is a strategic case where the investigators have done a very good job, which has led to the district court being able to rule that the cars should be forfeited,” says Michael Johansson, chief of the local police area Botkyrka.