Severe criticism of the Swedish Companies Registration Office because for many years the agency applied a procedure by which, in certain cases, applicants were instructed to pay a registration fee despite the matter in question being free of charge

Summary of the decision: Pursuant to the Ordinance (SFS 2009:92) on Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, deregistration from the register for preventing money laundering is free of charge. Despite this, the Swedish Companies Registration Office has for many years instructed applicants in such cases to pay a registration fee. This is due to technical limitations in the Swedish Companies Registration Office’s administrative system. Payments relating to deregistration received by the Swedish Companies Registration Office during the period in question have been refunded to applicants on an ongoing basis.

In his decision, the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman states that parties in a case being processed by a government agency must be able to trust that the measures taken by the agency are supported in law. He holds that, not only is the Swedish Companies Registration Office’s processing in contravention of the aforementioned ordinance, but that it has also adversely affected the individuals who have paid the requested amount. According to the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, the fact that the Swedish Companies Registration Office subsequently repaid the incorrectly paid fees is irrelevant under the circumstances.

The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman therefore severely criticises the Swedish Companies Registration Office.