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Swedish agency launches anti-fraud support for construction

9/04/2025, 09:42

The National Agency for Public Procurement (Upphandlingsmyndigheten) in Sweden has published support materials to help procurement organizations more easily identify risks and prevent unscrupulous actors from winning tenders.

Anna Broberg

Work-related crime is growing, resulting in legitimate companies being unable to compete on equal terms. Procurement of construction, transport, and cleaning services are risk areas, according to the National Agency for Public Procurement.

The costs of work-related crime are difficult to estimate, but the criminal economy, of which work-related crime is a part, is estimated to generate SEK 100-150 billion in criminal profits each year in Sweden.

Four components, one construction-specific
The National Agency for Public Procurement’s new support contains four main components, one of which is specifically focused on the construction industry:

Governance and organization
Risk assessments of work-related crime
A practical toolkit for all types of procurement
Special measures for contract procurement in the construction process

The last component is an in-depth section aimed at “all client roles that come into contact with contract procurement in construction and civil engineering.”

“An assessment of the risk of work-related crime should be made early in the procurement process, preferably before the procurement documents are prepared. This reduces the risk of unscrupulous companies submitting bids and increases the chance that they are discovered early,” says Henrik Grönberg, senior lawyer at the National Agency for Public Procurement.

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