Norrkronan's properties in Malå are all centrally located along Storgatan. Thus, they are also important socially..
Norran has previously reported on the businessman Christoph Svahn, who, apparently backed by substantial financial support, has unveiled ambitious plans to invest in Malå.
Last spring, he purchased multiple properties in the heart of the city. However, as Norran has revealed, the renovation work was abruptly halted due to disputes with the Ukrainian construction workers. They allege that they haven't received a significant portion of their wages. Furthermore, there seems to be confusion regarding the terms of their employment contracts.
Svahn still owns the buildings, but the renovation seems to have come to a halt, raising numerous questions among Malå residents.
The dispute with the workers has now led to legal repercussions, and they are not the only ones demanding money from Svahn and his company. Malå municipality is also seeking payment, turning to the debt collection agency Intrum to collect a total rent arrears of 47,837 kronor.
The context is that when Christoph Svahn bought the properties in Malå, he also wanted to rent the former premises of Handelsbanken in the town.
This resulted in a lease agreement being drawn up between AXT Investment AB, one of Svahn''s many companies, and the property owner, Malå municipality.
The lease was signed by both parties. In the first months, the municipality also received the rent, but then it stopped. The image is a montage.
According to the agreement, which Norran has reviewed, the investment company is to pay an annual rent of 110,000 kronor plus tax to the municipality. At the same time, it includes a clause that exempts the company from paying rent for the first four months, in exchange for carrying out certain repairs and renovations in the premises.
The premises were refurbished by the Ukrainian workers. And for June and July, which were the first two non-payment-free months, the municipality also received payment.
It was the Ukrainian construction workers Norran previously reported on who equipped the former Handelsbanken in Malå. Thanks to the renovation, the tenant received four payment-free months.
However, the payments subsequently ceased.
Ebbe Ström Bergstedt, who was responsible for managing properties for Malå municipality until March of this year, says he was in touch with Svahn last fall and was informed that Svahn had not received the invoices.
–So I sent new invoices to the email address he provided. Since then, I've been unable to reach him, said Ebbe.
What followed was a process wherein Malå municipality attempted to recover the money through a debt collection agency and sought to terminate the three-year contract.
Eventually, the municipality regained all keys to the premises and even signed a contract with a new tenant.
Nevertheless, they have yet to receive payment for the unpaid monthly rents.
As to how this situation arose, Ebbe mentions that the municipality examined some of Christoph Svahn's engagements in various companies and determined that several of these firms seemed profitable.
When Northrock Investment Group, one of Christoph Svahn's many companies, displayed signs on the premises. Today the contract has been broken and another tenant has moved in.
But there were other factors that led Malå municipality to trust him: Svahn's connections to Malå and the potential for new jobs in the area.
–The local ties perhaps reinforced our feeling that there was no risk involved. It's very unfortunate, especially when a new company comes in, giving the impression that we'll get new jobs, Ebbe said.
– So we initially believed in this. Now it's easy to look back and say we were wrong.
How do you view this in hindsight?
– You feel sad, bitter about being taken for a ride. I feel I've been deceived, led astray. Then, I don't know the background, if something particular happened in his business. I haven't received any such information.
Regarding the situation of the Ukrainian workers, Ebbe says he has no idea who was involved in the renovation of the premises. This did not go through the municipality.
– I haven't seen which workers were working in the former Handelsbanken premises, so I can't form an opinion on it. It's unfortunate that he ran the business in that way.
So you never checked if the workers had fair conditions?
– Firstly, we didn't know who would do the work. Then, we had no involvement in that aspect either from our side; the municipality was not a stakeholder in any way. Not more than his commitment in the lease contract.
How do you see it today, shouldn't you have checked?
– Yes, hindsight is always 20/20. So sure, we should perhaps have had more control over that aspect, says Ebbe.
Svahn tells Norran that the plans for the Handelsbanken building were to start a business and employ people who would work remotely for Stockholm companies in the areas of accountancy, finance, and law.
– Västerbotten and inland have very good people and labor, and now you can work flexibly. Not everyone needs to be in Stockholm, he says.
According to Svahn, the reason the business never started was because the economy dipped, while he himself took on too much.
This is also his explanation for why the company stopped paying the rent:
– I will schedule a meeting with the municipality as soon as possible and find a solution. This place was vacant, and when we realized that nothing would come out of this, I returned the keys right away, and now a new tenant has taken over the place.
The person responsible at the municipality says he feels deceived. What is your view on this?
– It was certainly not my intention to deceive anyone. It has to do with the poor economy, and I shouldn't have taken on so much, I took on too many projects, and I sincerely apologize for that. I did not mean to do anything like that. No ill will towards Malå at all.
We've talked to several people who tried to contact you about both the properties and the Handelsbanken building, and they say you don't respond. Why have you been avoiding them?
– It was not my intention to avoid them, it's just that I might not have had the time to respond.
Even for several months?
– Again, I took on too much last year; I haven't really caught up.