Already in August, the police received a detailed tip, according to DN's sources. It meant that people entitled to vote from Borlänge's marginalized areas would be paid to vote in person for the leftist Mohamed Abdukardir Ali in the parliamentary election.
An extensive intelligence operation was launched in Borlänge which resulted in a preliminary investigation led by the National Anti-Corruption Unit. Detectives documented that people were driven to early voting in the Kupolen shopping center and that the car also stopped at ATMs to make withdrawals.
Now DN can report more details about the suspected election fraud. According to source information, it must have been a small group of men in Borlänge who controlled the scheme. Among other things, a man who has been convicted of assault in a court case and a man in his 50s who is said to have worked as a driver.
- I don't want to make any comments, the driver told DN.
According to DN's information, the men must have sought out people in the residential areas of Tjärna ängar, Jakobsgårdarna and Bullermyren, provided them with pre-marked ballot papers and driven them to polling stations.
- They have been assertive, and hit people quite hard, says a source.
According to DN's information, three groups of Somali origin in particular were courted, as they were judged to be the easiest to reach. It was about marginalized women, young men who had not intended to vote, and people living in addiction and homelessness.
In cases where money is reported to have been paid out, it must have been small sums.
- Sometimes they have given a hundred bucks or two to the person who voted, and offered something to eat, says a source.
The police wanted to search the car to look for crossed-out ballot papers with Mohamed Abdukardir Ali's name, but were refused by prosecutor Oskar Edvardsson at the National Anti-Corruption Unit.
During the reconnaissance operation, Mohamed Abdukardir Ali was targeted at ATMs, according to DN's informant, and therefore the police wanted to check his finances and bank account statements. But on September 8, five days before the election, prosecutor Oskar Edvardsson decided to drop the preliminary investigation citing "evidence problems".
The fact that the police were not allowed to work further with the investigation caused strong feelings both in Borlänge and higher up in the police organization.
- Police officers were super frustrated, a source told DN.
According to information to DN, the justification for dropping the preliminary investigation must have been that there was insufficient evidence that the alleged act could affect the outcome of the election, or the distribution of mandates.
But after the election, when it turned out that Mohamed Abdukardir Ali was crossed into the Riksdag, the assessment changed. Contacts were made between the police's national electoral staff and the police region Bergslagen, which includes Borlänge. After that, the investigation went "full speed" again and on 21 September the preliminary investigation was taken up again.
The investigation has now grown and the police are also investigating how Ahmed Abas Omar (V) was elected to the municipal council in Borlänge. The investigation has been moved from the Bergslagen police region to the National Anti-corruption Group of the Swedish Police Agency.
DN's sources describe how the police have lost valuable time during the almost two weeks that the preliminary investigation has been closed. It may have affected the possibilities of gathering evidence and getting to the bottom of what happened.
- We have lost momentum, says a source.
DN has unsuccessfully sought prosecutor Oskar Edvardsson. He has previously told Expressen that the preliminary investigation was resumed after new information had come in, without specifying which.
Three people are suspects in the investigation into suspected election fraud in Borlänge, according to documents from the Public Prosecutor's Office that SVT has seen. But none of them have yet been charged with a crime.
The Left Party's Mohamed Abdukardir Ali has taken a "timeout", but will not leave his parliamentary seat, according to party secretary Maria Forsberg.
To SVT, Mohamed Abdukardir Ali has previously dismissed all reports of electoral fraud.
DN has searched for Mohamed Abdukardir Ali and Ahmed Abas Omar without receiving an answer.
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