A Swedish financier wanted by Swedish authorities for serious crimes has been extradited from São Tomé and Príncipe following an Interpol operation, according to Swedish public broadcaster SVT Nyheter. The financier, who was reportedly on the run from Swedish justice, had obtained a diplomatic passport from the West African island nation after being appointed as a special advisor to the president. The case has triggered a domestic political scandal in São Tomé and Príncipe, reportedly forcing the country's president to issue a public apology.
The Swedish national is suspected of multiple serious crimes including aggravated rape, aggravated assault, and serious weapons offenses allegedly committed on an archipelago island in Bohuslän, Sweden, during 2024. The crimes reportedly occurred in a property owned by another well-known Swedish entrepreneur. The extradition marks the conclusion of an international manhunt that exposed diplomatic irregularities in the small island nation of approximately 200,000 inhabitants.