Taxpayers paid for Anna Kinberg Batra’s private dinners

Party with hired chef for M-tops Carl Bildt and Ulf Adelsohn.

Beef tenderloin with husband David Batra and another couple.

Anna Kinberg Batra has let the taxpayer pay for several private dinners in the Ticino palace.

Only when Aftonbladet requests representation information does the county administrative board start going through the receipts.

Part of Governor Anna Kinberg Batra’s work is to represent Stockholm – as a result, there are often mingling and dinners at the Governor’s residence Tessinska palatset in Stockholm.

But the rules are clear – the governor must pay for private dinners himself.

Aftonbladet can now reveal that Anna Kinberg Batra has repeatedly held private parties without taking the cost privately.

In September last year, former M-tops Carl Bildt, Ulf Adelsohn and Hans Birger “HB” Ekström were treated to a three-course dinner prepared by a hired chef. Crayfish soup was served for starters, wild duck for main course and tarte tatin with vanilla sauce for dessert.

The bill landed at SEK 5,800 excluding drinks – something that the taxpayers paid for.

Goes through receipts – only after Aftonbladet’s questions

In November, former work colleagues were invited to the Tessinska palatset. The colleagues worked together with “Betalningsutredningen”, a state investigation that has nothing to do with the County Administrative Board in Stockholm. Nine people participated, this time too the governor hired a private chef. The bill landed at SEK 11,248 – and it was paid by the taxpayers.

Another private party was held in February this year. The dinner was attended by husband David Batra and the moderate state secretary Johan Berggren with his wife. Berggren was recruited to a top job near Anna Kinberg Batra during her time as M leader, they are also private friends. Beef tenderloin and shiitake mushrooms were on the menu. The food was bought in a grocery store for 1,294 kroner and 187 kroner and paid for by the taxpayers.

On a list of representation expenses in the Tessinska palace it says “paid privately through salary deductions” for the above dinners. But when Aftonbladet requests all salary deductions that the governor has made, it turns out that some of these have not been made.

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“Hasn’t been noticed until now”

Only after Aftonbladet begins the review does the County Administrative Board begin going through receipts and deciding on salary deductions.

– The dinners that cause salary deductions have only now been noticed in the review the county administrative board itself is doing due to the questions the authority received from, among others, Aftonbladet, says Håkan Larsson, administrative director at the county administrative board in Stockholm.

Aftonbladet requested information on representation costs on April 2, is it only after our request that you start going through the private costs?

– Yes.

Did you not know that these expenses were to be paid by the governor before we requested the information?

– That this type of expenditure is covered by benefit taxation is according to the county board’s regulations. The dinners that are now preferentially taxed retrospectively have not been noticed until now.

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Contradicts own policy

Anna Kinberg Batra will receive a salary deduction of SEK 4,500 in April, as well as SEK 9,100 in May, writes CFO Anna Hedner in an email to Aftonbladet.

As recently as last spring, Anna Kinberg Batra decided what policy the County Administrative Board should have in terms of representation.

“All representation, gifts and personal welfare benefits must be done with good judgment and restraint in accordance with the state administration’s requirements to use public resources efficiently and to manage the state’s funds well.” that in the policy document.

Aftonbladet is looking for Anna Kinberg Batra.

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