BBC has reported that the Hives have been ordered to pay the Cardigans 18.5MM kroner, which is roughly 3MM America dollars via a loan the Hives claim to have no idea they were taking. The legal kerfuffle was generated by Malmo, Sweden recording facility Tambourine Studios, manager of both bands’ finances, which were frequently moved back and forth between accounts. From the report:

The Hives claim they were never told that some of the money they were receiving was a form of loan.

But a district court in Lund, southern Sweden, ruled the money still had to be paid, along with more than five million Swedish kronor (£500,000) in legal fees.

“It is claimed that we borrowed money and simply do not want to pay it back,” The Hives said prior to the judgement.

The band insist there was “no agreement on the loan, no signed documents, no agreements on interest rates or terms of repayment”.

Their lawyer said they would appeal the verdict.

These are not the first artists to be involved in this kind of case. Other Swedish artists, like Europe and the Soundtrack Of Our Lives, have reportedly suffered the same kind of trouble. There will be further investigation into whether signatures on the documents allowing this kind of management are legitimate.