A total of nine people are now being prosecuted in various places in Sweden for having received suspected bribes from the company Labcenter, reports the news agency Sirén.
The three county residents are charged with taking bribes.
Two of the suspects are employed by an authority in the county, and the third person was working at a major workplace in the county when the suspects were discovered.
According to the indictment, the men must have received technical equipment in the service from the company Labcenter in connection with the company arranging courses.
According to the indictment, it took place between April 2016 and June 2017. The evidence includes email conversations, invoices from the company, and interrogations with the defendants' managers.
The suspects from the county are in their 30s and 40s.
All deny the crime.
Forced to drop charges
In the summer of 2017, the suspected bribery scandal was discovered.
According to the prosecutor, suspicions have been directed at a couple of hundred officials in about 70 different municipalities, authorities and regions.
Now, several years later, the first charges are being brought in the bribery scandal.
And although more charges are expected in the future, the prosecutor also states that he has been forced to close several cases that are statute-barred.
- Many have become far too old, the police resources have not been enough, says Alf Johansson, chief prosecutor at the National Unit against Corruption to SVT News.
The company Labcenter is closed.
People within the company have been investigated for serious bribery, but the suspicions have been dismissed because it was not possible to prove the crime.
An employee who receives an improper benefit can be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of two years for bribery.
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Alf Johansson, Chief Prosecutor.
Photo: Jessica Gow / TT