The Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) is facing scrutiny for its decision to contract a company linked to the Russian government for the production of vehicle registration plates.

This company, a subsidiary of the German Tönnjes Group, has connections to the Russian firm Znak, whose founder is under EU sanctions for supporting the war in Ukraine.

Experts warn that if the deal proceeds, sensitive vehicle data could be accessed by Russian intelligence, posing a significant security risk.

Transportstyrelsen maintains that the procurement complies with existing laws and that the contractor will only receive public information necessary for manufacturing.

However, critics argue that the agency cannot guarantee the protection of sensitive data, raising concerns about the implications of outsourcing such critical tasks in the current geopolitical climate.