Sweden probes officer for selling residence, work permits: Details inside

STOCKHOLM – The government of Sweden is facing flak for allegations that one of its officials sold the residence permits.

The former administrator at the Swedish Migration Agency is alleged to have taken payments for granting residence and work permits to applicants and their family members. 

As investigations continue into the case, the migration agency has reviewed eight cases so far, and in seven of the cases, the allegations were found to be true; the administrator is believed to have handled around a thousand cases.

“There is a suspicion that the person has received payment to carry out these permits,” Carl Bexelius, head of legal affairs at the agency, was quoted as saying by local broadcaster SVT Nyheter.

Although complete details are yet to be announced, it was revealed during the investigation that the immigration office received an anonymous message that the administrator in question had been paid as much as several hundred thousand Swedish Krona to grant a residence and work permit.

The accused was reported to internal investigations by a unit manager in March last year but investigations are underway.

In one of the cases, three identical applications were granted permits naming the same company as an employer with 13 family members being included in addition to the three main applicants in August last year.

In another case, the suspect granted permission to one person and five family members in February last year, but after examination, the migration agency said “the employer is notorious for work permits for bogus employment” and that the application should have been rejected immediately, Anadolu Ajansı reported.

The man has not been grilled in person as he resigned at his own request last fall but the immigration office is now looking into whether the permits should be revoked.

The suspect denies that it was intentional or that he was paid for it and cites stress or mistakes as a reason behind such an award of permits.

The case comes weeks after Poland faced similar allegations and its deputy foreign minister was arrested in connection with a visa fraud scandal that shocked the ruling regime.

Piotr Wawrzyk was arrested following the verdict by the country’s central anti-corruption bureau, further intensifying the already existing divide between Prime Minister Tusk and opposition politicians from the former Law and Justice (PiS) administration.