Malmo Corruption Scandal

Location
 Participants
 1. ↑ Alaric Widell was fired from the cabinet immediately following his implication in the corruption scandal

The **Malmo Corruption Scandal** was a large scale political scandal in the Federal Republic of Avalonia which was unveiled gradually in the autumn of 2040 during the premiership of Väldeminister Ada Nilsen, and would ultimately go on to leave a lasting impact on Avalonian politics.

In early September 2040, it was discovered that an unnamed senior civil servant had been diverting funds from the Malmo State federal office for personal gain, allowing federal police to discover a web of high level politicians and civil servants engaging in corrupt and illegal activity within the government. On September 28, 2040, Heath Secretary Alaric Windell was dismissed from Nina Auber's cabinet on the orders of Väldeminister Ada Nilsen after Windell was implicated in the scandal. The following day, Windell was arrested by the police.

In the ensuing criminal trials that followed, 24 out of the 27 officials arrested pleaded guilty to corruption, with Windell's involvement inflicting serious political damage on Väldeminister Nilsen and her administration; as a result of her damaged approval ratings and a general desire to retire, Nilsen announced her decision to step down as väldeminister at the next election in March 2041, and the same year introduced the Anti-Corruption Act of 2041 which gave the state increased powers to prosecute officials found guilty of corruption, as well as hiking prison sentences to 15 years if found guilty by a criminal court.

Regarded as a turning point in Avalonian politics, the corruption scandal effectively facilitated the rise to power of Wren Lindquist, who was able to win the leadership of the Liberal Socialist Party in an election following the resignation of her predecessor, who took power in the aftermath of Ada Nilsen's decision not to run for re-election.

## Scandal

 **Electoral History**
2017 General Election • 2021 General Election • 2025 Väldeminister election • 2029 Väldeminister election • 2033 Väldeminister election • 2037 Väldeminister election

Beginning on September 7th 2040 with the discovery that an unnamed senior civil servant had been diverting funds from the Malmo State office for personal gain, the federal police unveiled a web of high level politicians and civil servants using taxpayer money to pay for bribes within the government and police forces, even reaching members of the cabinet with Health Secretary Alaric Windell arrested and detained on September 29th.

In the ensuing criminal trials that followed, 24 out of the 27 officials arrested pleaded guilty to corruption, with Windell's involvement inflicting serious political damage on Väldeminister Nilsen and her administration; as a result of her damaged approval ratings and a general desire to retire, Nilsen announced her decision to step down as väldeminister at the next election in March 2041, and the same year introduced the Anti-Corruption Act of 2041 which gave the state increased powers to prosecute officials found guilty of corruption, as well as hiking prison sentences to 15 years if found guilty by a criminal court.

However, the introduction of the Anti-Corruption Act (also known as the ACA) had some unexpected consequences as Nilsen's eventual successor Väldeminister Wren Lindquist began using it to restrict the actions of the Labour party and to ban political opposition leaders such as Annegret Karbauer, leader of the Avalonian opposition, from holding public office. Further amendments to the law in 2042 and 2043 granted the office of the väldeminister increased powers to use the act without needing approval from the Riksdag or the Supreme Court, resulting in a concentration of power as the head of state began to accumulate the power to ban political opponents from holding any office whilst also heavily restricting opposition parties from holding rallies or conferences if they're deemed as possessing "corrupt elements".

## See Also

* Väldeminister of Avalonia
* Prime Minister of Avalonia
* 2041 Väldeminister election