Sweden orders six Boden crypto miners to pay $56.5 million after illegal tax scheme crackdown

Sweden’s Tax Agency has imposed approximately $56.5 million (540 million Swedish kronor) in back taxes and penalties on six cryptocurrency mining companies in Boden after an investigation found what authorities described as illegal tax schemes designed to conceal mining activities and improperly claim state tax benefits.

The enforcement action is part of a broader 2024–2026 audit of the cryptocurrency sector that targeted nine companies across Sweden and resulted in more than $50 million in unpaid taxes and penalties. Six companies based in Boden accounted for most of the assessments, placing the northern Swedish municipality at the center of the country’s growing scrutiny of crypto mining.

According to Swedish tax officials, some companies created complicated corporate structures that obscured their involvement in cryptocurrency mining. Authorities allege that the arrangements enabled the firms to present themselves as conventional data-processing operations and obtain tax relief for which they were not eligible.

The investigation has also exposed a wider dispute over how cryptocurrency businesses classify their operations and access tax incentives intended for other technology and data-center activities.

Sweden targets crypto mining over illegal tax schemes

The Swedish Tax Agency’s latest action follows an investigation into companies operating cryptocurrency mining facilities in Boden, where a significant concentration of the country’s crypto-mining industry developed.

Authorities said the companies used corporate arrangements that made it difficult to identify their actual mining activities. The alleged illegal tax schemes allowed the firms to seek benefits associated with ordinary data-processing centers despite, according to the tax authority, conducting cryptocurrency mining.

Patrik Lillqvist, head of intelligence at the Swedish Tax Agency, criticized the practices in stark terms.

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

Lillqvist said the arrangements identified during the investigation were specifically structured to conceal mining operations and secure tax advantages.

“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.” — Patrik Lillqvist, head of intelligence at the Swedish Tax Agency.

The scale of the assessments reflects the tax authority’s broader effort to challenge illegal tax schemes in the cryptocurrency industry. The 2024–2026 audit examined nine cryptocurrency companies nationwide, with the six Boden-based firms responsible for the majority of the more than $50 million in taxes and penalties assessed.

Tax appeals put crypto companies under pressure

Several companies affected by the assessments have challenged the Swedish Tax Agency’s findings in court. However, lower courts, including the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal, have upheld the tax authority’s conclusions.

One of the companies caught in the dispute 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 taken its tax case to Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court.

The case remains pending, leaving the company awaiting a decision on whether the country’s highest administrative court will review the tax dispute.

Johanna Törnblad, chief executive of Bikupan Datacenter and Swedish country manager for its parent company, Hive Digital Technologies Ltd., rejected the Swedish Tax Agency’s interpretation of the company’s historical activities.

“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.” — Johanna Törnblad, CEO of Bikupan Datacenter and Swedish country manager for Hive Digital Technologies Ltd.

The dispute illustrates one of the central issues surrounding the alleged illegal tax schemes: whether companies providing computing capacity should be treated differently from businesses directly engaged in cryptocurrency mining.

Boden emerges as center of tax investigation

The latest assessments build on an investigation that began receiving wider attention after Swedish public broadcaster SVT Norrbotten reported in 2024 that cryptocurrency operations had cost the Swedish government an estimated $100 million.

Much of the activity identified in that investigation was concentrated in Boden. Of the 18 cryptocurrency mining companies examined during the Swedish Tax Agency’s four-year investigation, 13 had established operations in the municipality.

The concentration has drawn particular attention from Swedish authorities because of the way cryptocurrency companies reportedly entered smaller municipalities. According to the Swedish Tax Agency’s intelligence chief, crypto firms targeted smaller communities with promises of employment, economic development and additional tax revenue.

Those promises helped attract mining operations to locations with access to significant amounts of electricity and suitable infrastructure. The subsequent tax investigation, however, has raised questions about whether some companies used those arrangements to facilitate illegal tax schemes rather than deliver the economic benefits local authorities expected.

Swedish authorities have also previously expressed concern about the energy demands associated with cryptocurrency mining. The government has argued that large-scale mining consumes substantial amounts of electricity without providing sufficient tangible economic value in return.

The tax dispute therefore sits within a broader Swedish debate over the role of cryptocurrency mining in the country’s economy and energy system.

Crypto industry faces closer scrutiny

The Boden cases signal a tougher regulatory environment for cryptocurrency companies operating data centers and mining facilities in Sweden. The tax authority’s investigation has already produced substantial assessments, while court challenges could determine how similar business structures are treated in the future.

For companies affected by the illegal tax schemes allegations, the financial consequences extend beyond the tax assessments themselves. Bikupan Datacenter’s restructuring demonstrates how disputed tax liabilities can create significant pressure on operators, particularly when appeals do not immediately suspend the financial burden.

At the same time, the companies’ objections underscore the complexity of distinguishing cryptocurrency mining from the broader provision of computing power. That distinction could become increasingly important as former mining operators explore alternative uses for their infrastructure, including artificial intelligence workloads.

For Swedish authorities, the immediate focus remains on recovering taxes they say were improperly avoided and ensuring that tax benefits are not obtained through misleading corporate structures. For affected companies, the pending legal proceedings could provide another opportunity to challenge those findings.

The outcome of Bikupan Datacenter’s appeal before the Supreme Administrative Court may therefore carry significance beyond one company, particularly as Sweden continues examining illegal tax schemes and the tax treatment of cryptocurrency-related businesses.

The investigation also highlights the changing relationship between Sweden and the crypto-mining sector. What once appeared to offer smaller municipalities new investment, employment and revenue opportunities is now facing much closer scrutiny over taxation, energy consumption and corporate transparency.

As the authorities continue pursuing alleged illegal tax schemes, the Boden cases could shape how Sweden approaches cryptocurrency mining companies that operate under the broader label of data-center or computing businesses.