Widespread membership fraud inflates state subsidies to Norwegian religious groups

Recent checks have uncovered systematic errors in the membership rolls of around 700 Norwegian religious and belief organisations that qualify for state subsidies. Examples cited involve a woman recorded as a member of a Moroccan faith group for six years without any contact, a former Buddhist who remains on the register after leaving in 2023, and a long-standing entry for Mahmoud Farahmand in the Islamic Association in Oslo despite his lack of involvement.

A 26-year-old also discovered her name on the Hare Krishna list without ever joining. Critics argue that state administrators never conduct regular inspections of these registers, enabling the fraud to continue. Past scandals, such as a 2015 case where a Catholic diocese was ordered to repay excess funding, illustrate the issue’s depth. Calls are growing for annual member consent and stronger state monitoring until the subsidy scheme is reformed or abolished.