Sussa regions waive 375 million SEK in penalties for Cambio

Nine Swedish regions within the Sussa cooperation have waived 375 million SEK in contractual penalties after the company Cambio failed to deliver the Cosmic electronic health record system on time.

Sussa chairman Mats Lundin stated the decision was made to avoid prolonged legal battles and the potential necessity of a complete re-tendering process, which would have incurred even higher costs. However, former operational chief Niklas Lindberg indicated in police interrogations that there were fears Cambio might face bankruptcy if the penalties were enforced, and the waiver was intended to secure the delivery.

Legal experts have raised concerns regarding the legality of this move. Andrea Sundstrand, an associate professor in public law at Stockholm University, suggested that waiving such penalties could be viewed as an illegal distribution of taxpayer money or unlawful state aid, as it unfairly benefits one supplier over others.

Furthermore, the supplementary agreements signed with Cambio have already faced legal scrutiny. The Administrative Court of Appeal previously ruled that these agreements constituted unauthorized direct procurement, resulting in a 90 million SEK procurement damage fee for the regions. This case is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Administrative Court.