Britta Nielsen is still haunting in Denmark

Shocked Denmark

In 2020, Britta Nielsen was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for scamming the National Board of Health and Welfare for more than DKK 117 million over a period of 25 years.

As a trusted employee with access to the payout system, she was able to redirect public funds to her own accounts and she did so systematically and in hiding for colleagues and control systems.

The amounts grew year by year without anyone questioning the transfers that emerged as support for distressed citizens.

Instead, the money was spent on a life of luxury.

Britta Nielsen invested in horses and stables, traveled around the world and bought both properties and exclusive goods.

She led a double life in which she appeared to be a regular office employee in a public authority, while in fact lived for millions of stolen tax dollars.

The reveal came in 2018 and sent shock waves through both the civil service and the public.

The case raised basic questions about trust, control and responsibility in the Danish welfare system.

How could one person by all years bypass all security measures without being discovered?

Britta Nielsen’s three adult children were later indicted for participation because, according to the prosecution, they had received money and gifts to an extent that should have aroused suspicion.

However, they were all acquitted when the court found that there was no evidence that they knew of the illegal origin of the funds.

Still, their names have since been inextricably linked to the case and they remain the subject of media attention.

The scandal today has iconic status as one of the biggest examples of system failure in modern Danish history and even several years after the verdict against Britta Nielsen, her name and family are still part of the public debate.