The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth is demanding back half a billion in corona support from the companies

This spring, SVT's review showed that several of the country's largest companies distributed billions to shareholders at the same time as they received state support for redundancies.

Among the 30 most traded listed companies were SKF and Assa Abloy.

The revelation received a lot of attention.

Tillväxtverket's director general was called to the finance committee, and already the same week the authority had reversed, and the government proposed an amendment to the law which emphasized that corona support should not be paid to companies that make share dividends.

Set dividends

Some companies - such as SKF - reacted by withdrawing their application for support.

Others have later voluntarily repaid the support to be able to make their share dividends.

There were also companies that canceled planned share dividends in order to take advantage of the support.

In Volvo's case, a dividend of SEK 11 billion was stopped.

The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has now gone through many of the thousands of companies that have been granted support, and where, according to the regulations, it must be assessed afterwards whether the company was really entitled to the money.

Over 2000 companies

And SVT can today report that 2,112 companies have been judged to have made such dividends that it is hardly compatible with the regulations to receive redundancy support at the same time.

Tillväxtverket believes that there will be a formal dialogue with these companies.

There may be extreme cases where you have to keep money.

Otherwise, this is a recovery of SEK 499 million.

Among the companies affected are both large and small.

Half of the companies must repay aid amounts of a maximum of SEK 100,000.

But 54 companies have received support of over one million for which they will be recovered.

Several companies that canceled their share dividends this spring are now considering distributing money later this autumn instead.

The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has not determined exactly how long it will take from the time companies receive support until it is allowed to distribute money, but several politicians in the Finance Committee considered this spring that the ban should apply throughout the year.