At approximately 0400 EST, the Swedish Security Service announced that two Russian nationals had been arrested in absentia in Stockholm. The two persons were reportedly married and lived in Stockholm for ten years and in Sweden for more than twenty years. The couple migrated from Russian in the early 2000s and were described as a quiet couple by neighbors. The man was reportedly collecting information for the Russian Federation and a third party nation that operates an embassy in Sweden, according to Swedish media reporting who had access to the court documents. He reportedly worked in the import/export business and used his wife as an accomplice. The couple together led a lucrative business which afforded them a profit of around 30 million Swedish Krona a year or about two million USD a year.
The Swedish Security Police, Swedish Police Authority National Task Force, and the Swedish Armed Forces conducted a pre-dawn raid via Blackhawk helicopter and ground vehicle insertion. However, it appears that the couple had already fled the country. The investigation was brought on by tax fraud investigations which revealed foreign holdings and the flow of money overseas to the Russian Federation.
The press release from the Swedish National Police reads as follows:
“The national operational department at the Swedish Police Agency assisted the Security Police with an operation in the Stockholm area on Tuesday morning. The effort has been carried out in collaboration with the Swedish Armed Forces’ transport resources. For further information about the operation, refer to the Security Police . Special units from the Swedish Police have assisted the Swedish Security Service to carry out an operation in the region of Stockholm, during Tuesday morning.
The operation was coordinated with transport units from the Swedish Armed Forces.
Information about the operation is provided by the Swedish Security Service.”
