The Clan Rules the Housing Area with an Iron Fist

Leading members of the family-based, immigrant George network in Borås have for several years reported negligible legal incomes. At the same time, an investigation shows that several of them have been able to purchase cars, valuables, and properties, as well as move large sums in bank accounts. The mapping paints the picture of a network that has long held a powerful position in the gang criminal environment in the ethnically segregated troubled district of Norrby.

Borås Tidning (BT), in a comprehensive investigation, has reviewed the finances, court rulings, police investigations, and official records linked to the immigrant family- and clan-based so-called George network in Borås. According to the newspaper, the core of the network consists of 15 highly criminally active individuals and has for many years played a leading role in the immigration-related gang crime scene in the city’s ethnically segregated troubled area, Norrby.

According to the local newspaper, the Police Authority classifies eight people in the network as A-actors in the so-called cylinder model, the police’s method for assessing influence and function in criminal settings. This means they are considered to belong to the highest layer. In addition, several people in the network appear at the slightly lower and less criminally active B level.

Low Incomes – Large Assets

The newspaper has obtained income data for all A and B actors in the network over the past six established years. The average for the group, according to BT, is about 8,500 kronor per month in declared income. Capital surplus is reported to have been about 600 kronor per month.

At the same time, BT describes how several people at the top of the network have had access to branded clothing, luxury watches, premium cars, large cash purchases, and extensive transactions via bank accounts. In multiple cases reviewed by the newspaper, financial investigators have determined that the legal income has not come close to supporting either daily expenses or the consumption observed.

Multi-Million Villa at the Center of Investigation

One of the most noted examples concerns a villa in Hestra that, according to BT, has now been seized in an ongoing criminal investigation. The house is owned by a married couple in the family who purchased the property in 2024 for 2.7 million kronor. The villa is now said to be valued at 4.7 million.

Prosecutor Jack Parsland tells BT that extensive improvements have been carried out on the house during the short time the family has owned it. The suspicion is that large sums from criminal activities have been invested in the property.

Loan Sharks and Benefit Fraud

According to the newspaper’s information, parts of the money are believed to be linked to a loan operation charging very high usury rates. A man in the family, who is according to BT an A-actor, has previously testified in court about loans being given at a 25 percent monthly interest rate.

The same scheme also involves suspicions of serious benefit fraud and fraud aimed at the Swedish Public Employment Service and Borås Municipality. According to BT, it concerns approximately 750,000 kronor in total. Around ten people are suspected in the investigation, several of whom are connected to the network. The couple deny any wrongdoing.

Raid Against Top Clan Leader

Information from the villa investigation, according to BT, led to a police raid against the person the paper identifies as the network leader, Peter George. He and a close associate were detained on suspicion of serious money laundering. Both deny any criminal suspicion.

BT states that the police found significant assets at the time of the raid, suspected to be the proceeds of criminal activity. According to the newspaper, Peter George is also linked to a hair salon in Norrby. The salon and the area outside are described by BT’s sources as a recurring meeting place for gang criminals with immigrant backgrounds.

Deliberate Pizzeria Fire—Insurance Fraud

BT also highlights another case concerning a younger A-actor in the network. In 2022, he owned a pizzeria together with a relative, also an A-actor. After the premises burned down, the investigation cited by BT found the fire had been deliberately started with gasoline.

The damage to the building amounted to around 4.3 million kronor. The young co-owner managed to claim more than half a million kronor in insurance compensation, but further compensation was stopped after police, in a separate investigation, found video clips on a confiscated mobile phone.

The pizzeria was completely destroyed by fire. Photo: Police.

In the videos, according to BT, the man delivers detailed instructions on how the fire should be set. He also discusses what he could personally make from the inventory, tools, and goods in the premises.

The investigation also showed that the man, over two years, had received 2.7 million kronor into his accounts via Swish, transfers, and deposits. In connection with the case, a Rolex, a car, gold jewelry, and cash were among the items seized. He was later sentenced to two and a half years in prison for incitement to arson and serious fraud.

Large Inflows Despite Small Incomes

In another case reported by BT, a 32-year-old B-actor was arrested in spring 2023 and was later sentenced to prison for serious drug offenses and weapons violations. In the more than three years prior, he had, according to the paper, an average official net income of only about 12,000 kronor per month. For most of the time, he also had his wages garnished due to debts with the Enforcement Authority.

Despite this, the investigation found his accounts had moved nearly two million kronor, largely via Swish and cash deposits. During a home search, police found electronics, furnishings, and branded clothing with an estimated value of around half a million kronor. Just at Mio, according to receipts, he had shopped for 156,000 kronor in cash.

A financial investigator, according to BT, concluded that the man could not have covered his living expenses with his legal earnings. A large part of the property was subsequently forfeited.

Father and Son Lost Vehicles

BT also reports on a case where a father and son in the network, both A-actors according to the newspaper, were convicted in 2022 for extensive drug offenses.

The son had, during the previous two years, very low declared employment income. At the same time, he had received a total of 782,000 kronor through deposits, transfers, and Swish. He owned two cars, one valued at over half a million kronor, as well as two motorcycles. All vehicles were forfeited by the court.

Seized Audi RS 3 – the son’s ‘dream car’. Photo: Police.

The father, according to BT, had a similar financial situation, with unemployment insurance and other benefits forming his taxable income, while over 1.2 million kronor simultaneously flowed into his account between 2019 and 2021. His vehicle was also forfeited.

Has Controlled Norrby for Years

In a previous mapping, Borås Tidning describes how the George network has long had strong influence over the ethnically segregated problem area of Norrby. The newspaper relays reports of residents being afraid, entrepreneurs being forced to adapt, and both municipality and authorities sounding the alarm about the network’s impact in the area.

BT writes that members of the network have played central roles in several high-profile criminal incidents in Borås since the 2010s, including serious drug offenses, weapons crimes, assaults, major brawls, and shootings.

According to the paper, network members have together been convicted of over 280 crimes and sentenced to a total of 63 years in prison. Of the 15 active members, all have been convicted of serious drug offenses or major drug smuggling. Most of the others have also been convicted of other drug-related crimes.

Top Leader Pointed Out

In BT’s investigation, Peter George is pointed out as the person at the top of the network’s hierarchy. Several sources in the paper describe him as the unifying and controlling figure operating behind the scenes.

The paper reports that despite older major drug convictions, in more recent years he has mostly appeared on the periphery of investigations into serious crime. According to BT’s sources, it is precisely this role that has made him central – he is described as strategic, cautious, and able to direct younger members of the network.

Peter George’s defense attorney has declined to comment on claims that his client is the leader of a family-based criminal network. In a 2021 police interview, Peter George himself described his role as “like an ordinary person’s” and stated he tried to be a role model for others in the area.

Large Brawl Highlighted as Example

One of the clearest examples in BT’s investigation is the major brawl in Norrby on June 22, 2021. According to the paper, an argument between children escalated into a larger conflict with racist overtones between two groups in the area. On one side were people of Somali background. On the other was a core made up of members from the George network with strong opinions about “blacks.”

Police officers later interviewed in the investigation described a very tense situation with large crowds present. When police contacted Peter George, according to BT’s reporting of police information, he was able to get his side to leave the scene.

A police officer said the situation could have ended much worse if he had instead wanted to attack. BT also reported that Peter George later spoke for his side when an agreement was negotiated after the incident.

Racist Overtones

Earlier reporting on the same conflict, based on police body cameras, showed how large groups chased and assaulted each other in the streets while a limited number of police officers tried to regain control.

The reporting also revealed that the police, according to preliminary investigation materials, sought contact with influential figures in the groups to try to calm the area. Information also indicated that the police used local contact points as part of their attempts to quell the conflict.

Earlier reporting also established that several suspects were described by police as members of the same family with backgrounds in Lebanon and Syria, and that the conflict originally followed an exchange of racist insults.

Subsequent legal proceedings also addressed statements made during the riot. In one case, it was tried whether statements made to the other group constituted incitement to racial hatred. One defendant was acquitted on this charge because the court considered the requirement for dissemination was not met, while another was convicted of incitement to racial hatred and unlawful threat.

Long History of Territorial Control

BT’s investigation also contains claims that the network has, for a long time, had so much influence that it has effectively determined who could move freely in certain places in the area.

The newspaper describes, among other things, how part of the settlement after the 2021 brawl concerned the right to be on Östgötagatan. According to a source to BT, people from the Somali side were then allowed to walk there under supervision to ensure compliance with the deal.

The investigation also relays claims that certain businesses in Norrby have paid money to be able to operate without being subjected to vandalism or other disruptions—classic “protection racketeering” in mafia-type crime.

Children and Young People Drawn In

BT also writes that several younger people in the network have long been known to social services and other authorities. According to municipal documents reviewed by the newspaper, several youths had already received interventions as children without their criminal development being interrupted.

The newspaper also reports cases in which children have been drawn into criminality in direct connection to family activities. Sources describe how younger relatives have gradually been given roles within the criminal environment.

Norrby Still a “Particularly Vulnerable” Area

Norrby has long been designated by the police as a “particularly vulnerable area” in Borås. Against this background, BT places its investigation of the George network in a larger context, where local immigration-related gang crime, social control, economic arrangements, and family ties have been woven together for many years.

With this new financial mapping, the newspaper deepens the picture of how the network’s leading figures have been able to amass assets and move large sums despite very limited declared incomes. The ongoing investigation against Peter George and others in the network also brings the issues of money, assets, and suspected money laundering to the forefront.