Vännäs Municipality Made Unauthorized Purchases Worth Nearly 40 Million SEK from Local Company

Vännäs municipality in northern Sweden has been found to have made hundreds of unauthorized purchases from a local company, Kaj Johanssons åkeri, totaling nearly 40 million Swedish kronor without proper procurement procedures. According to an investigation by SVT, the municipality continued purchasing goods and services from the company after existing contracts had expired between 2021 and 2024.

The municipality had three contracts with Kaj Johanssons åkeri during this period: one for machinery services worth 800,000 kronor, one for delivery of gravel and other materials worth one million kronor, and one for snow removal where the municipality paid approximately four million kronor in 2021 and 2022. However, the investigation revealed that actual purchases totaled nearly 40 million kronor.

Tom Madell, a professor of law at Umeå University, stated that this practice is not permitted. "When you've hit the ceiling, then that framework agreement ceases to apply. Then you should make a new procurement," he said. The municipality likely committed an illegal direct procurement, which could result in the municipality having to pay a procurement damage fee.

Municipal manager Karolina Johansson admitted that the municipality acted incorrectly. "What we missed was following up on the ceiling volume, that is, the value of the procurement. And there we must find some better routine to include that in our follow-up," she said. Johansson added that the municipality will now review its procedures to prevent recurrence.

The Swedish Competition Authority, Konkurrensverket, considers unauthorized direct procurements to be a particularly serious violation. The company's CEO, Stefan Johansson, stated in an email to SVT that they acted within the framework of existing procurements and contracts, and that from their interpretation, there was no established ceiling.