The star real estate agent sold homes for billions in Stockholm's inner city. But the success story hid gross crimes and connections to gang criminality.
Now he is sentenced to prison for three years and six months.
The real estate agent, who is in his 40s, is convicted of gross fraud, gross obstruction of tax control, seven cases of gross accounting fraud, and three cases of gross money laundering in business.
His lawyer tells TT that he finds it remarkable that the district court convicts the man of three cases of money laundering in business.
The man's business partner is also convicted of the same crimes and sentenced to prison for four years and six months. Both are banned from business activities for five years.
Two women are also convicted, one of whom receives a two-year prison sentence and the other a conditional sentence and day fines.
Stockholm Profile
The newly graduated real estate agent established himself as one of the country's most successful with sales values in the billions. When the Economic Crime Authority struck in May last year, cracks appeared in the polished facade.
The real estate agent was arrested, suspected of gross economic crimes, along with a business partner of the same age and two women. In March, charges were brought for, among other things, gross fraud and gross accounting fraud.
According to the charges, false income information was used to mislead banks into granting loans. Among other things, the business partner and his wife allegedly received loans of nearly 10 million kronor on false grounds.
The real estate agent and business partner were also charged with gross accounting fraud, accused of not having recorded business transactions of nearly 50 million kronor.
The duo is also suspected of gross money laundering in business in connection with several real estate deals where the payment, according to the charges, may have originated from criminal activity.
Employed Gang Criminal
One of these concerns an apartment deal mediated by the real estate agent in 2019. The seller was the business partner, and the buyer was a 26-year-old gang criminal who is internationally wanted, suspected of involvement in the murder of 12-year-old Adriana in Norsborg the following year.
When the 26-year-old applied for a loan, he claimed to be permanently employed as an IT manager at the real estate agency. According to the star real estate agent, the gang member was employed to "bring in deals". Other employees who have been heard in the investigation say they have never heard of him.
Joakim Lusensky, the Swedish Association of Real Estate Agents' communications manager, believes that the verdict and the multi-million fraud risk affecting the industry's reputation negatively.
But we have over 7,500 real estate agents in Sweden, and around 170,000 deals are made every year. This type of event is extremely rare, but it doesn't make them any less serious.
