A 60-year-old woman faces charges for transferring approximately 18.3 million Swedish kronor ($1.75 million) from Solna Municipality to her personal bank accounts. The former finance secretary handled municipal finances as part of her official duties.
Prosecutors charged her with gross breach of trust against her principal. She allegedly made 179 separate transfers over four years between 2019 and 2023.
The woman claims she fell victim to a romance scam. Investigators closed that line of inquiry because they could not identify any suspected perpetrator.
Senior prosecutor Susanne Ă–hbom led the preliminary investigation. She said the investigation revealed the woman made numerous transfers to her accounts, from which large sums were moved elsewhere.
Ă–hbom noted the scheme appeared sophisticated. The suspect recorded transactions in ways that made detection difficult, according to the prosecutor.
Solna is an affluent Stockholm suburb hosting major Swedish institutions like Friends Arena and Karolinska Institute. Municipal finance positions typically involve handling public funds with high trust requirements.
The case highlights ongoing challenges in Swedish public sector financial oversight. Regular internal audits apparently failed to detect the pattern of transfers spanning multiple years.