Man denied permits by Ivo while operating HVB facilities in Sweden

A man has been denied permits by the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Ivo) twice due to a lack of appropriate qualifications for him and his associates. Despite this, he has established multiple residential care facilities (HVB) and his companies have billed municipalities more than 12 million Swedish kronor over the years.

Ivo has acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, emphasizing ongoing efforts to enhance oversight to better combat unscrupulous operators. The Inspectorate has also recently requested additional powers from the government to strengthen their regulatory capabilities.

Under current regulations, newly appointed owners of HVB facilities are supposed to be vetted, but Ivo does not receive automatic notifications for ownership changes. Instead, new owners must self-report to Ivo for their operations to be reviewed. The man in question took over as CEO of two HVB facilities in 2023 and 2024 without notifying Ivo of the ownership changes, despite being previously deemed unfit for the role. He continues to serve as CEO of one facility.

Moreover, the man registered these facilities at new addresses, which should have necessitated a new permit application according to social service regulations, but Ivo failed to require such applications. A former employee indicated that the agency systematically overlooks the requirement for new permits when a facility relocates, limiting comprehensive scrutiny of owners and management.

While Ivo maintains that it is the operator’s responsibility to apply for a new permit when relocating, the agency is currently investigating one of the man’s operations, although the findings have not been finalized. When approached, he denied any involvement or connection to the HVB facilities, despite documentation to the contrary.