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“A gadget is always part of our laboratories.” This is how the Labcenter company markets its courses to IT managers in authorities, organizations and companies.
Many accepted the offer and received game consoles, computer equipment or gift cards worth thousands of crowns in connection with the course. But when the Debt Office indicted eleven employees on suspicion of bribery in the summer of 2017, many opened their eyes to the fact that the gifts weren’t entirely without problems.
The police investigation around Labcenter grew and grew and more authorities reported employees (see data box). According to the prosecutor, the investigation has included a total of suspicions against a couple of hundred officials from some 70 authorities, municipalities and regions.
First charges
Now the National Unit against Corruption has brought the first charges in the plot. Two officials from the Blekinge region, one from the Dalarna region and a municipal employee from Ångermanland are accused of taking bribes. The municipal employee is also suspected of fraud, as the prosecutor believes the man tricked his employer into paying SEK 4,800 for a game console.
According to the prosecutor, more will be processed in the future, but he has also been forced to close cases that have become prescribed by law.
– Many have aged too much, police resources have not been sufficient, says Alf Johansson, chief prosecutor of SVT’s National Anti-Corruption Unit.
The Labcenter company has been shut down and the employees have been investigated for gross bribery. But the suspicions have been dismissed and no one on the donor side will be prosecuted, as the crimes cannot be proven.
– Sometimes it cannot be shown that the suspect understood that the recipient could not receive what was given, says Alf Johansson.
The company: would be used in the service
SVT has spoken with the last president of the Labcenter board of directors, who affirms that the equipment was never intended to be used privately without everything being used by the authorities, companies and organizations that bought the courses.
In police questioning, Labcenter employees also claim that game consoles could be “at the front desk” of customers so that staff can practice hacking them.
