Here are the gifts to the Prime Minister

The details of Qatar’s offer are not entirely clear. Trump has called the plane a « free gift » and said it was Qatar who heard of it but sources to CNN Have said it was the United States that made the first contact.

However, the US Department of Defense confirmed this week that it has accepted the offer, « in accordance with laws and regulations ».

Regardless, the criticism of the gift has been loud. There is a ban in the United States against officials receiving gifts from foreign governments without the approval of Congress. Trump believes this does not apply because it is the Ministry that gets the plane, not he personally.

Ulrik Åshuvud, Secretary General At Transparency International Sweden, the plane sees as one of several signs that Trump is easily taking corruption. He is taking up the opportunity where Tesla cars were marketed outside the White House and the fact that in the United States the corruption legislation The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has been paused in the United States.

– It is a signal in itself, which says that the work against corruption is not so important, says Ulrik Åsh’s head.

There are many examples that show that Trump cannot draw a boundary between his public person and the private sector, that he puts it business over his role as president, according to Åshuvud. Receiving a gift of this kind is a « corrupt behavior, » he believes.

– The cooperation between countries is not based on giving each other great gifts.

Can you say that the plane is a bribe?

– Yes, it must, with the information we have, be seen as a bribe. This has been reacted to the US administration as well. You can’t just receive that. Then it is a bit unclear if there may be a lease at the bottom, you will see that.

In Sweden there are hard rules About the gifts that people in public service can receive. Smaller, symbolic gifts can be accepted, but nothing more valuable.

– There is a strict policy. If someone offers a greater gift, you thank no and refer to purchasing through procurement. An aircraft, it would not come into question, says Åsh’s head.

The Government Offices have detailed Guidelines for what applies to gifts to the government. It states, for example, that gifts that government ministers receive in official contexts accrued to the state. If a minister receives a gift privately, it should be considered if it is a bribe.

Gifts worth more than SEK 500 are registered with the Government Offices, with the exception of alcohol that is always listed.

DN has requested the list of gifts that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) received since he took office. There it is noted, among other things, that he received three gift boxes with Kam and Mirror from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, three bottles of red wine from Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and a Swiss Folding Knife from WHO Secretary General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

And what has Kristersson received from the Emiren in Qatar? An ornament in the form of an antelope.

It is part of the diplomacy to receive less gifts, according to Ulrik Åsh’s head.

– It’s hard to say no when someone comes with gifts. You say thank you, receive and take care of the gift within the administration – many times it probably ends up in a cupboard. It is a clear difference to get a bottle of wine and an airplane, he says.

With all the rules and guidelines around Bribery is easy to believe that Sweden is spared from corruption. Sweden is well located on Transparency International’s corruption index when ranking 180 countries, place sex in the world. But Sweden has lost points every year that the current survey has been completed, since its inception in 2012, and is now at a new lowest level.

The reason for this is not a bottle of wine to a minister, but it is about « infiltration from organized crime, procurement with poor transparency and follow -up and how to handle various forms of conflicts of interest ».

– The corruption risks in Sweden have increased and we are now the second worst in the Nordic countries, says Ulrik Åsh’s head.

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