Top Ombudsman, Facing Charges of Misconduct, Quits

STOCKHOLM — The top Swedish official responsible for investigating misconduct in government has resigned after he was accused of cheating on his expense account and abusing his office.

In a letter released Wednesday through the national news agency TT, Per-Erik Nilsson denied any wrongdoing but said he was leaving for the good of his office as judicial ombudsman.

“My decision was not a result of being guilty of the accusations against me,” Nilsson wrote in his letter. “I feel I have done a good job.”

The letter to the Riksdag, or Parliament, was dated Tuesday. It forestalled widely supported moves for his dismissal by the legislature, which oversees the ombudsman’s office.

Nilsson, a former chief justice of the Court of Appeals, is accused by government auditors of traveling to Portugal at public expense last November.

Nilsson maintained that the trip was at the invitation of his Portuguese counterpart. But in a letter published here, Lisbon ombudsman Luis Silvera denied ever inviting Nilsson to visit his country.

Other charges against Nilsson include improperly dismissing a complaint against a public office of which his brother is a director, and submitting expense accounts up to a year late or not at all.