SWEDEN - The board of AP6, one of the Swedish national buffer funds, has concluded in a review of its decision-making processes that its appointment of Åsa Rödén as the CEO of Xeratech was inappropriate because she was in a relationship with AP6's chief executive, Erling Gustafsson.
No formal wrongdoing was found but the board admitted the decision related to Xeratech - one of the companies in its portfolio - has had a negative impact on the trustworthyness of AP6.
Stricter procedures and regulations have now been implemented to avoid similar incidents from happening in the future, the board said in a statement.
AP6 became embroiled in the Xeratech corporate scandal in December, as irregularities on Xeratech's balance sheet remained unaswered and AP6 suspected the founders of "plundering" the company. The company has since been liquidated despite restructuring efforts and founders denied any wrongdoing.
The scandal prompted Mats Odell, minister for local government and financial markets at the Swedish finance ministry, to state he expected the board to take responsibility for the fund and declare what has been going on with Xeratech, as well as look at its internal processes.
Following the review, the board concluded while internal processes concerning investing in entrepreneurial companies have been adhered to, investing in Xeratech was not a good decision, and resulted in a loss of SEK70m (€7m). The board also stated the general experience of investing in these types of companies has been a positive one.
A series of events have been identified at Xeratech as suspected of harming the company, and these are now being investigated by the Swedish Economic Crime Authority.
AP6 currently manages approximately SEK16.4bn in assets and invests in 350 small and medium-sized companies.
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