Ewa Lindstrand: They tried to bribe Ocean Gala to Timrå

The trial in the dispute case is currently under way at best in Norrköping District Court.

The Norwegian shipping company Floating Accommodations Sweden AB has sued the Migration Board for around a quarter of a billion SEK for breach of contract. The Migration Agency does not want to pay the money because some asylum seekers never boarded the ship.

In the spring of 2016, both Timrå and Härnösand municipalities received requests to receive Ocean Gala with seats for around 1800 refugees on board.

Before the ship finally added to Utansjö north of Härnösand, the negotiations with the respective municipal management - which were both negative to receive the ship - had been intense.

If it testified both Timrås and Härnösand's former municipal council, Ewa Lindstrand (S) and Fred Nilsson (S), in court on Thursday.

Ewa Lindstrand came up with particularly interesting and completely new information that - if they are correct - can be perceived as a bribery attempt by Floating Accommodations towards Timrå municipality - and which Sweden's Radio P4 Västernorrland was the first to tell.

One of the alternatives was to have Ocean Gala add to the quay at the old Vivstavars factory in Timrå, which is owned by Örnsköldsvik shipbuilder Nicklas Nyberg. Municipal management was insane, but Floating Accommodations did not give up.

- Late in the afternoon on Friday, March 18, 2016, I received a handwritten note in my hand. Nicklas Nyberg was a messenger, Ewa Lindstrand tells SVT Västernorrland.

- On the note was "Time to close the deal" and as many seven-figure amounts as the municipality would receive if we said yes to Ocean Gala, she continues.

- If we said yes no later than 5 pm the following Monday, we would receive SEK 5 million. A positive message by 17 on Tuesday would yield four million, and with another one day delay three million. If we waited until Thursday, the amount would be zero.

The handwritten note that you can see next to it she saved and she had it with her in the courtroom in Norrköping on Thursday.

What did the company mean that the money for the municipality could go to?

- I interpreted it as that they would then sign sponsorship agreements with associations for children's and youth sports in the municipality of Timrå.

Ewa Lindstrand experienced it all as an extortion attempt. But the proposal was not something that the municipal leadership even considered.

- I just shook my head and found that they were not serious. It was very bad style and very rogue, says Ewa Lindstrand.

We have searched Nicklas Nyberg for a comment.