Defense minister of Iraq outed as welfare-receiving asylum seeker in Sweden

A scandal arose in Sweden about an asylum seeker whose case puts the entire Swedish asylum system in a bizarre light. The defense minister of Iraq Najah al-Shammari is claiming to live in Sweden and receives welfare checks from the Swedish welfare officem Försäkringskassa.

The story first came to light through the newspaper Nyheter Idag and a journalist working in Iraq. Turns out that al-Shammari has arrived in Sweden in 2012, when he got a residence permit under a false name Najah al-Adeli, and he acquired Swedish citizenship in 2015. His home town is registered to be Vårby in Stockholm and three other people have the same address, including al-Shammari’s wife.
Through his entire ”stay” in Sweden al-Shammari has had no income at all, and he is registered as being on long-term sick leave. The welfare office has payed him and his family at least 5,200 Swedish kronas in welfare and 4,480 kronas as child support. That amounts to approximately 1,000 USD per month. His main income is sick leave pay even though it’s unknown what sort of illness the defense minister has in Sweden.
Al-Shammari has visited Sweden in person to collect his welfare to give the appearance that he actually lives in Sweden. Now several police reports have been filed about fraud and giving false information to public offices. Several media outlets have reported about this scandal.
-Tiina Wiik-