Umeå Municipality has hired a top lawyer to win the dispute over access to whistleblower reports from municipal employees, but their security partner CRD Protection refuses to hand them over, claiming it would violate several laws.
The municipality demands that all whistleblower reports be handed over – even those withdrawn by whistleblowers out of fear. According to the municipality's position, whistleblowers who want to withdraw their reports are not allowed to have their data deleted.
CRD Protection claims that handing over the documents would "violate several laws, including the whistleblower law." All future communication between CRD and the municipality must now take place through legal counsel.
The conflict escalated when whistleblower company CRD directed sharp criticism at several top executives in Umeå Municipality, particularly City Director Margaretha Alfredsson. CRD argues that these executives are working against the whistleblower function and claims the city director "lacks the will to have a legal whistleblower function."
The company therefore urged the municipal board to take over the entire apparatus.
Opposition councillor Anders Ågren (M) has described the situation as "extremely serious if senior executives have tried to influence whistleblower investigations."
CRD Protection has since terminated its contract with Umeå Municipality, and the municipality disputes the claims of breach of contract, instead arguing that it is CRD that has breached the contract. The municipal board has decided to strengthen the whistleblower function while initiating work to procure a long-term solution for whistleblowing.
The conflict concerns the core question of how to balance the municipality's need for transparency against whistleblowers' right to protection and anonymity under law. CRD Protection's legal interpretation is that employees' confidentiality and statutory protections take precedence over the municipality's demand for access to the documents.