According to a report by Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, Swedish gangs are allegedly using the streaming platform Spotify to allegedly launder money. According to Consequence Sound, the Swedish gangs allegedly convert money from alleged drug deals, alleged robbery, alleged fraud and alleged assassination attempts into Bitcoin, a web currency. The Swedish gang members are reported to allegedly use the converted currency to acquire alleged fake streams. They then allegedly collect future cash for when the music is released.
Any legal measures taken by Spotify have yet to be announced. However, there was a response given by a Spotify representative about the reports of the alleged crime allegedly committed by the Swedish gangs. According to Stereogum, a Spotify representative claimed that there has been “no evidence that money laundering occurred via Spotify” since “less than one percent of all streams on Spotify have been determined to be tampered with.”
There have been responses from other recording agencies regarding Spotify’s response to the alleged crime mentioned above. Many recording agencies have pressured the music streaming platform to take action based on the alleged money laundering claims.
In other news, Spotify has recently taken measures to increase the price of their ad-free streaming subscription, Spotify Premium. Initially $9.99 per month, Spotify Premium users now have to pay $10.99 monthly.