PEAB founder freed in arena bribery scandal

A former city manager in Solna was convicted at taking bribes in connection with the building of new national sporting arena near Stockholm while the founder of Swedish construction firm PEAB was acquitted.

• Bribery scandal rocks Stockholm arena (9 Jun 11)

Former city manager Sune Reinhold was convicted by the district court in Stockholm suburb of Solna for accepting bribes between 2007 and 2008.

In February 2008, he took 375,000 kronor ($53,910) as a consultant fee for his work for Råsta Administration AB, work which he should have forfeited as city manager.

Reinhold was handed a suspended sentence and ordered to pay 105,000 kronor in fines. The state has also confiscated the 375,000 kronor.

He must also pay 100,000 kronor of the roughly 580,000 kronor fee to his lawyer Hans Strandberg.

He was initially charged with having accepted 900,000 kronor.

The bribery scandal has plagued the building process of the arena in northern Stockholm for months, and in June last year, six people were charged including local politicians and construction magnates.

Five of these men were acquitted on Friday, including local politician Lars-Erik Salminen of the Moderate party and PEAB construction company founder Erik Paulsson.

It could not be proven that these men were complicit in the bribing, according to the court.

“The court has freed these men for slightly varying reasons, but mainly because it was not proven that they knew that the city manager received payment for the project for the work that he should have forfeited,” said Catarina Barketorp of the court in a statement.

After the conviction, PEAB’s shares rose 3.3 percent on the Stockholm exchange.

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