Karolina Sköld, section chief for Malmö City’s work against gang crime among young people, has been fired since a long series of serious corruption allegations have been directed at her. But according to Karolina’s immediate boss, unit manager Therese Wihlborg, it has not yet been decided whether the fired section chief will also be reported to the police.
– We have not made a decision about that yet, says Therese Wihlborg to Samnytt.
It is on September 17 last year that Therese Wihlborg, unit manager at Malmö’s Individual and Family Care (IFO), receives an anonymous tip about one of her subordinates.
READ ALSO: Corruption scandal – help for young gang criminals became part of the crime
The tip is about Karolina Sköld, who has been leading her own section within the unit called Open Care since the summer of 2022. Open Care works with “young people at risk of criminal behavior” to persuade them to refrain from crime and drugs.
Karolina Sköld regularly appears in various news contexts dealing with youth crime in Malmö and is featured in the municipality’s own media initiatives.
Nepotism
The allegations made by the anonymous tipster against Karolina Sköld are so serious that the municipality decides to investigate them.
According to the investigation, it is found that Karolina Sköld had her own boyfriend as coordinator in the section, and his brother as development secretary. Employment relationships that are questioned.
The municipality argues that the employment of the brother-in-law “has occurred improperly as the position has not been preceded by advertising and that the section chief is in a conflict of interest”, as stated in an internal labor law investigation that Samnytt has access to.
It is further noted that Karolina Sköld approved hundreds of hours of incorrect overtime compensation for her boyfriend, that she uses her company car for private use, and that she even lets taxpayers pay for her private parking fees.
Has two jobs
But Karolina Sköld is not only a section chief in Malmö Municipality. She also works simultaneously as an investigator in the social services in Eslöv.
– She has only worked extra for us, says Josefin Sandell, unit manager for the Social Services Investigation Unit in Eslöv, to Samnytt.
According to Malmö Municipality’s investigation, the section chief reports working hours in Malmö, simultaneously as she is scheduled and working in Eslöv. She thus receives a salary from two different municipalities for the same worked hours.
The section chief explains this by reporting her worked hours “in clusters” but that she “in reality” works at different times than those she reports. She also denies not having reported the employment in Eslöv as a sideline.
Karolina Sköld no longer works in the social services in Eslöv, and unit manager Josefin Sandell does not want to comment on the matter for Samnytt. Unlike Malmö, Eslöv has chosen not to initiate an investigation.
Important message
Before you scroll further and read our journalism for free, we have an important message
Due to reduced income, Samnytt has been forced to cut back on its operations and is also facing several legal proceedings against leftist activists. Samnytt has no state support and extremely limited advertising revenue. We are entirely dependent on our readers’ support. If you want us to continue to exist as a newspaper, we ask for your help.
Spend a minute to become a subscriber! Click HERE to choose a subscription level or Swish any amount: 123 083 3350, and help in the fight against the establishment.
“Takes it seriously”
When Karolina Sköld is confronted with the many irregularities at the end of October 2024, she chooses to resign. The employer then points out that she has a three-month notice period.
A little over a month later, on December 4, administrative director Britt-Marie Pettersson decides that the scrutinized section chief should be fired. Therese Wihlborg is the unit manager at Individual and Family Care in Malmö and was Karolina Sköld’s immediate boss.
– She was dismissed the same day, says Wihlborg to Samnytt and points out:
– As an employer, we take seriously what has happened, but we also want to be clear that we have an important business where employees continue to work and perform high-quality work despite the circumstances we find ourselves in.
No police report
Therese Wihlborg also explains that the municipality has not yet reported the fired section chief to the police.
– It is still not clear how we will proceed. There are parts left to look at and investigate, she says.
It has also not been decided yet whether any measures will be taken against the boyfriend or the brother-in-law, and whether they may be dismissed or reported to the police for irregularities.
– We have not made a decision about that yet, says unit manager Therese Wihlborg.
Samnytt has sought Karolina Sköld.
READ ALSO: Tax-funded anti-SD association recruited for crime