It has been revealed that the co-founder of VPN service Mullvad has provided funding to Sweden's far-right political party, Örebro, with over 70% of its operating funds coming from donations.



It has been revealed that Daniel Berntsson, co-founder of VPN service company Mullvad, donated 5 million Swedish kronor (approximately 83 million yen) to the Örebro party in Sweden, which advocates strict immigration restrictions and the deportation of immigrants, for 2025. The donation amounts to 72% of the party's annual income, meaning that one supporter provided the majority of the funding that supports the party's entry into national politics.

Flamman | Techprofil ger miljoner till Örebropartiet
https://www.flamman.se/techprofil-ger-miljoner-till-orebropartiet/

The Örebro party is a populist local party based primarily in the city of Örebro in central Sweden. In Sweden, immigration, social integration, and crime prevention are major political issues, and the Örebro party has been criticized as far-right because it advocates 're-immigration,' sending immigrants back to their home countries.

According to an income report from the Örebro party obtained by Swedish news media Flamman, the 5 million Swedish kronor the party received in 2025 was a personal donation from Berntsson. Berntsson cited dissatisfaction with policies on crime, immigration, and integration as the reason for the donation, but Flamman reports that this donation was the party's largest single private donation in 2025 and may have encouraged him to announce his candidacy for the parliamentary elections.



Mullvad has been increasing its revenue in recent years with its VPN service that enables anonymous internet use, and its sales in 2024 reached 314 million Swedish kronor (approximately 5.2 billion yen). The company explains that the donation is an act of Berntsson's personal initiative and not a corporate activity.



Berntsson commented to Flamman that 'the donation was personal.' Furthermore, in a social news article on Hacker News, Fredrik Strömberg, a co-founder of Mullvad, stated, 'It is clear that Berntsson's personal donation to a political party is not part of Mullvad's values or mission, just as personal opinions on animal rights, taxes, or public healthcare policy are not part of Mullvad's values or mission .'

Strömberg also stated, 'We are a political company. We fight for freedom of speech, freedom of information, and the right to privacy. These are values that Mullvad's founders firmly believe in. Mullvad protects the rights of people who express opinions we do not agree with. We protect everyone's right to access opinions we do not agree with.' Furthermore, Strömberg said that he himself does not favor donations and that many of his colleagues share the same view.

In response to Strömberg's comments, some people indicated their intention to discontinue their account, saying, ' It appears Berntsson owns about half of Mullvad, but I don't want my payments to support inhumane purposes .' Others said, ' I believe that part of my payments to Mullvad have gone towards supporting an organization with extreme racist views, and I've requested a refund for the unused portion .' On the other hand, some commented that ' the majority of customer payments support the livelihoods of employees and their families, and it's not realistic to trace back to the personal spending of the owner when judging business partners .'

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