Translated from Swedish to English - www.onlinedoctranslator.

com

A transcript from Dagens Nyheter, 2022-12-12 08:36

Original address of the article: https://www.dn.se/sverige/turkiskt-storbolag-vilseledde-sverige-i-miljardaffar-om-rysk-verkehsam/

SWEDEN

Large Turkish company misled Sweden in the billions - about

Russian operations
PUBLISHED 06:06

Graphics: DN Photo: Burhan Ozbilici/AP

Sweden has been both misled and pressured to approve a

Turkish a" is worth several billions, DN can reveal.

The partner is a large company with connections to

Turkish President Erdogan and Vladimir Putin.

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Sweden is in the middle of intensive negotiations with Turkey about future NATO
membership. At the same time, another process has been underway at an
individual Swedish authority, regarding whether Sweden should support a large
Turkish deal.

It is about a railway project that is a high priority for the Turkish

government.

The authority Exportkreditnämnden (EKN) has for a long time discussed

and investigated the possibility of entering as a guarantor for a loan of
just over three billion kroner to finance the project, in exchange for the
use of Swedish goods and services.

The authority's internal investigation shows high risks with the project. In six
out of eight points, the risks are judged to be at the highest possible level.
Among other things around health and safety, working conditions and
biological diversity.

Anti-corruption expert Louise Brown has also pointed out

Sweden's intended business partners asknown for corruption
and tax evasion in the billions.

Despite all the warning signsreceived the green light for the deal this summer
from EKN's board, as long as a number of conditions were met.

One of Sweden's demands has been that the large Turkish group, called
Rönesans, should leave Russia, where they operate several companies.
The group's Russian connections have been a source of concern for the
Swedish authorities, as can be seen from a large amount of
documentation and e-mail correspondence that DN has seen.
Rönesan's owner Erman Illicak has close ties to the Turkish president.Photo: Sergei
Karpukhin/ITAR-TASS/TT

Rönesans, whose owner Erman Illicak has close ties to the Turkish
president, has assured EKN that the group intends to meet the conditions.
This despite the fact that Russia is an important market for Rönesans,
which accounted for almost 40 percent of their revenue.

DN can now revealthat Rönesans tried to mislead Sweden in the big

billion-dollar deal. The group has not left Russia at all. Our review
shows, on the contrary, that the group is betting on the Russian
market and is recruiting staff in both St. Petersburg and Murmansk in
northwestern Russia - amid the country's ongoing war of aggression
against Ukraine.

Online, one of the group's personnel managers urged people to

apply for jobs in Russia as recently as last week.

"A fantastic opportunity for engineers in steel construction who want to

continue their careers in Russia!", comments the manager of one of the
series of vacant jobs in the country.

Both the post and the job ads were deleted shortly after we started
asking questions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin personally gave diplomas to Rönesans in 2019 – as thanks
for the big company's hard work.Photo: Renaissance Heavy Industries

The review also showsthat several of the Rönesans Group's companies

based in Russia have continued to submit a form of declaration to Russian
authorities during the summer and autumn. Something which, according
to the Eastern Economic Institute at the School of Economics, should be
interpreted as the companies being active.

Both the Turkish government and the bank involved, which will be
responsible for the loan for which EKN acts as guarantor, have been keen
that Sweden fully approves the billion-dollar deal.

At the end of August, DN was able to tell how Turkey startedpressure

Sweden from the highest place.A high-ranking manager at the Turkish
Ministry of Finance contacted EKN personally, and wanted to emphasize
that the company in question has Turkish ownership.
Rönesan headquarters in Ankara.Photo: Burhan Ozbilici/AP

"Therefore, we kindly expect the Swedish government and EKN to

continue to support the project," wrote the Turkish government
representative.

But EKN has continued to ask control questions. Something that

made representatives of the major American bank involved, JP
Morgan Chase, see red.

DN can now revealhow the bank, which is one of the absolute largest in
the world, has warned EKN and Sweden in the autumn of the
consequences if the deal is not approved.

"If [this document] is not enough to meet EKN's requirements,

then, to be honest, it is time for Swedish diplomats to prepare
to explain to the Turkish government why they do not approve
the railway financing," the bank wrote to EKN in August.
One of the world's largest banks, American JP Morgan Chase, warns that Sweden will have to
explain itself to the Turkish government if EKN does not approve the billion dollar deal. Photo:
Screenshot

The deal has now been paused from Sweden's side, because Rönesans
has not fulfilled its conditions. In an internal document from the end of
November, which we have seen, it is stated that Rönesans "lacked
reliability and transparency in its communication with EKN".

The authority does not wantgive any interview about the deal, but
confirms that the deal is on hold.

- After EKN has carefully evaluated and analyzed all the

information received since the decision in June, it will be difficult
to confirm in the foreseeable future that all EKN's conditions can
be met, says Malin Alm Gerentz, press communicator at EKN.

Neither Rönesans nor the Turkish Ministry of Finance could be

reached for comment. JP Morgan Chase has said it does not wish to
comment. EKN and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have previously
denied that the deal has any connections to Sweden's NATO
process.

Facts.EKN and Turkey's railway project.

The Export Credit Board, EKN, is a Swedish authority whose mission is to promote
Swedish exports.

EKN does this, for example, by guaranteeing the security of loans so

that whoever finances the loan, often a bank, is protected from losing
money if it is not repaid.

EKN has strict guidelines and expressly aims to promote the

environment, human rights and to combat corruption.

This summer, EKN gave conditional approval to the deal regarding Turkey's railway
project - where a company within the Rönesans group was the responsible
contractor.
 Rönesans, which was founded in Russia, has been investigated several times
for corruption. Rönesan's owners have connections to both Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Read more:

The emails show: The Speaker wants to go to Turkey to help with NATO

Delayed NATO membership worries the Baltics

Billström: Sweden is making progress in the talks with Turkey

The emails reveal: Turkey pressured Sweden to approve high-

risk business

TEXT

Adrian Sadikovic
adrian.sadikovic@dn.se

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