A study has revealed that 49 companies and groups run by Islamic radicals have done businesses with local and national Swedish authorities and have been paid 1.2 billion Swedish kronor (£104,136,000/$137,400,000).
The taxpayer cash has been paid to the groups and companies over the last five years, with some of the people involved in the companies being open radical Salafists while others are said to have been violent Islamic radicals who fought abroad for terrorist groups like the Islamic State.
According to a report from newspaper Aftonbladet, the majority of the cash came from school funding from local municipalities and grants from the Swedish National Agency for Education.
The Sapphire school in Gothenburg, which was shut down due to links to radical Islamic extremists in December of last year, raised the most government cash, along with the parent co-operative Bilaalm based in Norrland.
Terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp slammed the government for not knowing where taxpayer money was actually going and said that radical Islamic extremists often prioritise schooling.
“Of course there is a purely financial purpose, to make money. Then it’s about the advocacy aspect and about isolating young people from the non-religious community,” he said.
The report is not the first time it has been revealed that Swedish taxpayer money has gone toward radical Islamic extremists.
Last year, the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) reported that radical Islamists were receiving taxpayer cash, but estimated the amounts to be in the millions of kronor and not over a billion.
“To reduce growth in extremist communities, society needs to prevent organisations that contribute to radicalisation from receiving public funds. The state should not fund activities that undermine our democracy by supporting violent extremism,” Johan Olsson, the Operational Manager at Säpo said at the time.
In 2016, it was also reported that Sweden was paying welfare benefits to a Swedish Islamic convert who had travelled to Syria to fight for the Islamic State.