Sweden Hits 6 Crypto Firms With $51M Back Tax Demand

Audit Uncovers Systemic Tax Evasion

The Swedish Tax Agency (STA) has reportedly imposed approximately $56.5 million (540 million Swedish kronor) in back taxes and penalties on six cryptocurrency mining companies operating in Boden following an investigation into tax avoidance schemes.

Tax authority officials said the companies established misleading operational structures to disguise active cryptocurrency mining activities, allowing them to unlawfully claim state tax benefits.

“You come to a society and steal from it,” said Patrik Lillqvist, head of intelligence at the Swedish Tax Agency.

The enforcement action stems from a 2024–2026 industry audit that hit nine cryptocurrency firms nationwide with more than $50 million in unpaid taxes and penalties, with six Boden-based operations accounting for the vast majority.

According to a local report citing tax officials, the firms used complex corporate arrangements to obscure their participation in crypto mining to access tax relief designed for standard data processing centers.

“The companies we have checked often have a special arrangement to hide the fact that they are engaged in mining,” Lillqvist said. “The purpose is to obtain tax benefits that the companies are not entitled to.”

Several targeted firms have appealed the assessments. Lower courts, including the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal, have consistently upheld the tax authority’s findings.

Appeals Fail as Debt Triggers Corporate Restructuring

Among the affected firms is Bikupan Datacenter, which operates facilities in Boden and Robertsfors. The company has entered financial restructuring after failing to meet its tax liabilities and has appealed its case to the Supreme Administrative Court, where the review remains pending.

Johanna Törnblad, chief executive of Bikupan Datacenter and Swedish country manager for its parent entity, Hive Digital Technologies Ltd., disputed the agency’s findings.

“Regarding the historical operations of the Hive companies, we do not share the Swedish Tax Agency’s assessment, as is evident from the reconstruction application where we explain that the crypto mining itself is carried out by external mining pools that are independent of the HIVE group,” Törnblad is quoted as saying in the report. “The Hive companies sell computing capacity, that is, computer power that can also be used for AI, for example.”

The latest tax adjustments follow a 2024 investigation by public broadcaster SVT Norrbotten, which revealed that cryptocurrency operations had defrauded the Swedish government of an estimated $100 million, with much of the activity concentrated in Boden. Of the 18 crypto mining companies targeted in the four-year STA investigation, 13 had their operations established in Boden.

The Swedish government previously criticized cryptocurrency mining operations, arguing they consume vast amounts of energy without offering tangible economic value.

STA’s intelligence chief previously said this geographical clustering was intentional. Crypto firms targeted smaller municipalities by dangling promises of local job creation, economic development, and increased tax revenue.