A Swedish appeals court on Monday ordered former national security adviser Henrik Landerholm to pay a fine of 52,000 Swedish crowns, roughly $5,247, after finding him guilty of gross negligence for mishandling secret information.
Overturning the Lower Court Ruling in Stockholm
The Monday decision by the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm reverses an earlier ruling from a district court. Last year, the lower court cleared Landerholm of the most serious interpretation of the charge, concluding that while his actions were negligent, they did not reach the threshold of being grave.
The appeals court arrived at a different conclusion regarding the documents left behind at a hotel back in 2023. According to a statement issued by the Svea Court of Appeal, unlike the district court … the court of appeal finds that the man disclosed the information contained in the documents through gross negligence.
The only reasonable explanation for the man having left the documents behind is that he was quite careless when emptying the safe-deposit box where he had kept them,
the court stated.
Political Fallout for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
The legal scrutiny surrounding Sweden’s first national security adviser has created political complications for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Landerholm is a friend of the prime minister, and he stepped down in January 2025 after the investigations began.
The security breach occurred in 2023 during a period marked by a deepening security crisis across the Baltic Sea region, which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The ongoing fallout has added pressure to Kristersson’s administration. The prime minister submitted his resignation after his right-wing government lost its parliamentary majority in a general election in September, though he is leading a caretaker government while a new government is being formed.
Legal Response and Ongoing Silence
Landerholm has maintained a plea of not guilty throughout the judicial process. Following the release of the appeals court decision, neither Landerholm nor his defense counsel was immediately available for comment, as reported by Reuters.
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