An independent external audit has delivered sharp criticism of responsible politicians and officials in Kramfors municipality over deficiencies in the handling of a gaming village investment in Nordingrå, SVT reported. The 57-page report from the audit firm Azets examined several decisions and grants connected to the gaming investment between 2019 and 2024.
In the summary, the auditors wrote: "The investigation's assessment is that the municipal board has not ensured sufficiently adequate governance, control and follow-up of the gaming investment. The review found recurring shortcomings in documentation, risk management and follow-up. Documentation of financial follow-up is missing throughout the investment, and the auditors found no risk analyses at all.
Only two of nine political decisions were judged to have sufficient grounds. That makes it impossible to establish that the decision process was correct and on what basis decisions were made. A majority of the decisions were taken by municipal board chair Malin Svanholm (S) or the municipal board's working committee.
It isn't formally wrong, but it's considered a major risk that such a large investment lacked broad support.
The auditors said the investment had a strategic and clear purpose that was applied consistently, but that implementation failed at several stages. The investment did produce effects, the report said, while the long-term effects are unclear. According to Kramfors municipality's website, the report will now be handled by the municipal board, which is expected to decide on measures to correct the deficiencies.
The municipality will also analyse the recommendations in the review and work further with them.