For years, the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) received warnings that then-Preem owner Mohammed Al-Amoudi could have ties to the financing of Usama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The information came, among other sources, from Israeli Mossad. Despite this, according to Uppdrag granskning, there are no signs that Säpo ever investigated the billionaire—even while he controlled a business of central importance to Sweden’s energy supply.

The Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi was for several decades one of Sweden’s most powerful foreign investors. He owned Preem, had large industrial and real estate interests in the country, and was awarded the Order of the Polar Star by King Carl XVI Gustaf in 2007.

At the same time, Swedish authorities are said to have received repeated warnings about far more serious matters.

Uppdrag granskning has mapped out how information about Al-Amoudi’s possible links to terror financing reached Sweden on several occasions. The first warning to Säpo is said to have come more than 30 years ago.

Despite this, SVT, after contacting around 50 current and former officials, has been unable to find any signs that Säpo conducted any actual investigation of him.

Mossad Warned About the Billionaire

One of the actors interested in Al-Amoudi was the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.

Udi Levi, who previously led financial intelligence operations within Mossad and worked on mapping terror financing, told Uppdrag granskning that Al-Amoudi appeared in Israeli intelligence work. According to the investigation, such information was also passed on to Sweden.

This means that Säpo was not only dealing with vague media reports. Warnings are said to have come from intelligence sources while American authorities were also interested in Al-Amoudi’s financial network. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the USA is said to have considered designating him as a terrorist.

Yet Uppdrag granskning has found no evidence that Swedish Säpo launched a corresponding investigation.

Named in Secret Pentagon Report

The case is further strengthened by a classified American intelligence report from the Pentagon from 2002. In the document, Al-Amoudi is named as a person allegedly involved in funneling money to Usama bin Laden.

According to SVT, the report contains concrete information about names, companies, and account numbers. Former CIA agent Robert Baer, who worked for 21 years in the American intelligence service, has reviewed the material and describes the information as something that could have been verified through a proper investigation.

One lead concerns the construction of a hospital in Saudi Arabia. According to the intelligence report, the costs for the project were greatly inflated and the difference, equivalent to around 360 million Swedish kronor, was transferred to bin Laden, with Al-Amoudi involved in the project.

He denies the allegations and states through his press office that he neither knew of, approved, nor participated in any overbilling or transfer of funds to bin Laden, al-Qaeda, or any associated parties.

Suspicions Were Public as Early as 1999

The information about Al-Amoudi and bin Laden was not something that emerged only after the 9/11 attacks. As early as 1999, Affärsvärlden reported how Al-Amoudi was forced to deny reports of financial support for the already internationally wanted terror leader.

The background was reports in USA Today, citing American intelligence sources, stating that Saudi businessmen had transferred large sums to accounts linked to bin Laden. Al-Amoudi was mentioned alongside the National Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia and Capitol Trust.

Suspicions about him were thus known internationally several years before al-Qaeda conducted the attacks on the USA, yet Al-Amoudi’s position in Sweden continued to grow.

Controlled Swedish Oil Industry

As early as 1994, Al-Amoudi purchased all of OK Petroleum from KF, the Swedish state, and Finnish Neste.

The deal was valued at about 5.9 billion kronor. According to KF history, OK Petroleum was then Sweden’s largest oil company, with revenues of about 19 billion kronor. The company later became Preem.

Through the refineries in Lysekil and Gothenburg, Al-Amoudi gained control of a large part of Sweden’s refining capacity, and, thus, an operation of direct importance for Sweden’s fuel and energy supply.

His Swedish empire was also much larger than Preem. Via Midroc, he had substantial interests in construction, industry, and real estate and also owned Svenska Petroleum Exploration. For a long time, he was described as one of Sweden’s largest foreign investors.

This background makes Säpo’s alleged passivity particularly striking. The person Swedish and foreign intelligence actors are said to have warned about was not some peripheral businessman but someone with billion kronor investments and control over strategically important Swedish assets.

Rewarded by Sweden

At the same time as suspicions circulated internationally, Al-Amoudi had close relationships with official Sweden. In 2007, he was awarded the commander’s insignia first class of the Royal Order of the Polar Star for his contributions to Swedish business life. The same year, King Carl XVI Gustaf visited Preem’s refinery in Lysekil, where Al-Amoudi personally received and guided the king.

During the diplomatic crisis between Sweden and Saudi Arabia in 2015, he was also pointed out as a possible bridge-builder between the Swedish government and Saudi Arabia.

His position only changed dramatically in 2017, when he was arrested in Saudi Arabia during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s major anti-corruption campaign. Al-Amoudi was detained for about 14 months before being released in January 2019.

Preem Sold After Three Decades

Al-Amoudi’s long period as owner of Preem has now come to an end. In 2025, the sale to the energy group VARO Energy was announced, and on January 16, 2026, the merger was completed. The companies then formed VAROPreem.

Al-Amoudi has never been convicted of terror financing, and the information in the American intelligence reports has not led to any charges against him. He has also consistently denied financing bin Laden or al-Qaeda. But the Uppdrag granskning revelation primarily casts light on the actions of Swedish authorities.

For several years, Säpo is said to have received information that one of Sweden’s most powerful foreign investors could be linked to the financing of international terrorism. The warnings came not only from the media but also from foreign intelligence actors, including Mossad.

Yet, according to SVT, there are no traces of any Swedish security police investigation.