The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has started an investigation into the crowdfunding campaign set up to help the Turku stabbing hero Hassan Zubier.
Zubier, a British-Swedish national, was left partially paralysed after he tried to chase away the perpetrator of the Turku knife attack last year. Zubier received praise and awards for his acts that August afternoon, one of which was Finland’s life saving medal. The paramedic, who is a British citizen and resides in Sweden, received the honour for intervening in the attack that claimed the lives of two people and injured eight others.
Markus Laine, Detective Chief Inspector from the NBI, said a police report has been filed concerning the fundraising.
"We just received the information a couple of weeks ago, so our investigation is at the initial stage,” he said.
According to Laine, two individuals are under suspicion of fundraising crimes. He did not disclose the names of the suspects, however.
GoFundMe campaign raised €32k
A GoFundMe campaign, which was set up by a Vaasa resident for Zubier in December of last year, managed to raise about 32,000 euros. The woman behind the campaign, Sonya Höstman, said she thought that the fundraiser did not require permission from the police.
The GoFundMe page has since been shut down, and Zubier said he has already spent the money on bills, loans, food, a car and diapers.
According to Finnish law, any group or individual raising money for a charity needs to get permission from the police and required to inform authorities about the nature of the fundraiser.
Last month, Zubier admitted to prosecutors that he attached forged documentation to his benefits application to the Finnish state. Zubier told officials that he misrepresented his work history when applying for damages from the state.