A Swedish businessman who escaped from a private clinic in Larnaca yesterday, where he was being held under guard, is wanted in Sweden for alleged fraud potentially worth hundreds of millions of euros.
Hans Jonny Uven, 49, who was arrested in Cyprus on December 6, fled through a window after detaching his handcuffs from the hospital bed’s protective railing. He had been receiving treatment for acute gastroenteritis and chest pain for two weeks prior to his escape.
Swedish authorities have been seeking Uven for the past year over allegations of massive fraud involving his mining and construction companies. While the exact scale of the alleged fraud remains unclear, Swedish media reports suggest it could exceed one billion Swedish kronor (approximately 100 million euros).
Uven, from Gällivare, Sweden, is under investigation for alleged embezzlement and fictitious transactions. His companies reported revenue of 1.9 billion kronor in 2022, but only 130 million kronor came from external sales, according to investigators. Swedish authorities are also examining whether his transactions were aimed at artificially inflating his credit rating to deceive investors and business partners.
According to Swedish news website NSD, the bankruptcy administrator of Uven’s five companies, which went bankrupt in 2023, reported debts of over 249 million kronor, with a deficit of 244 million kronor. Secured assets after personal bankruptcy include claims totalling 1.7 million kronor, primarily from affiliated companies, and investment goods worth approximately 2 million kronor.
The administrator also noted that authorities are still searching for gold bars worth 2.7 million kronor and a helicopter that remain unaccounted for. Additional secured assets include weapons valued at 153,000 kronor and nearly 300,000 kronor in shares and bank accounts.
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