New Report Claims Spotify Has Become a ‘Criminal Tool’ For Money Laundering

[Scumstation]

Not only is Spotify a platform that causes issues for artists, but it’s also reportedly become a “criminal tool” being used by gangs.



Swedish newspaper the Svenska Dagbladet (and shared by Music Business Worldwide) has released a bombshell report detailing how the streaming platform is being used by criminals for purposes of money laundering.

The Svenska Dagbladet shares that crime networks with ties to drugs and other violent activity have been using the service for such purposes for years now. The report cites several protected sources, some of which include gang members, as well as a police agent.

According to the unit that this agent is part of, they claim, “Spotify has become a criminal tool” and “they suspect that the gangs launder money from drug dealing, robberies, fraud and assassination missions, via the platform,” which “can amount to many millions each year.”

So how does using Spotify supposedly work for these criminal purposes? According to the report, individuals allegedly convert criminally obtained money into Bitcoin, and then use those digital funds to acquire “fake streams” for artists with “links to gangs.” The criminals then collect the money made from these streams.

“Spotify has become an ATM for them,” the anonymous police agent said. “There is a direct connection to the gangs and therefore also to the deadly violence.”

The police agent also claims that this sort of criminal activity is commonly found in Sweden’s “gangster rap” scene, with some rappers allegedly having ties to crime.

One unidentified source said, “I don’t want to sell people out, this is very sensitive. It’s about more than buying streams. If you’re a network and you want to attract kids and you have a rapper who’s going big, that’s half the job for you. It is very good for recruiting purposes.”

In a Centre National de Musique study referenced in Svenska Dagbladet‘s report, up to 3% of music streams on platforms like Spotify are fraudulent. MBW previously reported this number only represents “fake streams” these services detect, not the ones they miss. Spotify issued a statement to the paper in regard to this matter, which you can read by following this link here.

Throughout the years, many have spoken out against Spotify, with some artists criticizing the payout that artists receive from streams. Back in June, Cradle of Filth‘s Dani Filth expressed such disdain for the streaming service, calling Spotify the “biggest criminals in the world.”

The police agent also claims that this sort of criminal activity is commonly found in Sweden’s “gangster rap” scene, with some rappers allegedly having ties to crime.

One unidentified source said, “I don’t want to sell people out, this is very sensitive. It’s about more than buying streams. If you’re a network and you want to attract kids and you have a rapper who’s going big, that’s half the job for you. It is very good for recruiting purposes.”

In a Centre National de Musique study referenced in Svenska Dagbladet‘s report, up to 3% of music streams on platforms like Spotify are fraudulent. MBW previously reported this number only represents “fake streams” these services detect, not the ones they miss. Spotify issued a statement to the paper in regard to this matter, which you can read by following this link here.