A Predetermined Contract and a Missing Report: The Case of Arbvux and Maria Wallin
The Arbvux department in Gothenburg, Sweden, tasked with assisting vulnerable groups like youth, immigrants, and the undereducated in finding employment, found itself embroiled in controversy over a hefty payment made to a consultant for work that was never completed. The department paid 400,000 kronor (approximately $38,000 USD) upfront to Maria Wallin, a former police intelligence officer and sociologist, for a report on crime prevention strategies. Two years later, the promised report remained undelivered, sparking investigations and raising concerns about potential irregularities in the procurement process.
The seeds of the controversy were sown early in the process. Emails obtained by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) revealed that both Arbvux’s legal counsel and then-director Andreas Lökholm appeared to have pre-selected Wallin for the contract even before it was officially advertised. The legal counsel’s email to Lökholm explicitly mentioned Wallin’s company and the agreed-upon sum, raising questions about the transparency and legality of the procurement process. Despite legal requirements for an open bidding process, Arbvux provided the recruitment agency, Eworks, with Wallin’s contact information directly, effectively bypassing competitive bidding. This preselection and the subsequent swift awarding of the contract to Wallin raised red flags regarding potential favoritism and a breach of public procurement regulations.
The contracted report, a “pre-project regarding security-creating and crime-preventing measures,” was due within six months. However, deadlines came and went without any deliverable from Wallin. Months turned into a year, with Arbvux repeatedly requesting the report and receiving only promises and excuses from Wallin. The eventual seven-page draft submitted by Wallin was deemed unsatisfactory, containing largely reiterations of the project brief and readily available public information. This minimal output contrasted starkly with the substantial upfront payment, exacerbating concerns about the value received for the public funds expended.
When Linda Nygren took over as Arbvux’s acting director, she inherited the unresolved issue and swiftly initiated a reclamation process. Nygren deemed the report unnecessary and irrelevant to Arbvux’s core mission, further highlighting the questionable nature of the initial contract. She questioned the rationale behind commissioning a report on crime prevention from a consultant when Arbvux’s primary focus is employment assistance for vulnerable groups. This raised questions about the strategic alignment of the project and whether it served any actual purpose for the department.
Wallin, in her defense, blamed a combination of illness and unclear guidelines from Arbvux for the delay and the unsatisfactory quality of her work. She cited sick leave for exhaustion, a broken foot, and post-COVID eye disease. However, these medical issues were not communicated to Arbvux in her correspondence regarding the delayed report. Ultimately, a settlement was reached between Wallin and Arbvux, mediated by Eworks, with Wallin agreeing to refund half of the payment. While this reduced the financial loss for the municipality, it still left questions unanswered about the propriety of the initial contract and the lack of oversight that allowed the situation to drag on for so long.
The Wallin incident was not an isolated case of mismanagement within Arbvux. The department had been plagued by a series of issues, including a poor work environment, whistleblower investigations, and leadership turnover. A separate whistleblower report revealed that Arbvux had spent millions on internal training for already highly educated employees at a major industry, a move deemed misaligned with its core mission. The report also exposed a culture of circumventing anti-corruption regulations within the department, highlighting systemic issues that contributed to the Wallin affair.
The Wallin case exposes potentially flawed procurement practices and raises questions about accountability within the Arbvux department. The preselection of Wallin, the substantial upfront payment without performance guarantees, and the subsequent lack of oversight all contributed to the significant financial loss and reputational damage for the municipality. The incident underscored the need for stricter adherence to public procurement regulations, greater transparency in contracting processes, and robust mechanisms for monitoring consultant performance to prevent similar occurrences in the future. The ongoing scrutiny of Arbvux’s operations signals a need for significant reforms to restore public trust and ensure responsible use of taxpayer funds.
