The trial of two men accused of committing aggravated fraud at the listed machinery company Cargotec begins in the Southwest Finland District Court on Tuesday.
During a pre-trial investigation, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) found evidence that the defendants tricked the company into paying some 14 millions euros into accounts connected to foreign companies via fake invoices.
The crimes are suspected to have taken place at the subsidiary MacGregor, a maritime cargo and load handling company that is part of the Cargotec Group, over the course of about fifteen years from 2002 to 2017. The two defendants had been in supervisory positions at MacGregor.
Both are now accused of aggravated fraud and one is additionally accused of aiding the crime of aggravated fraud.
Cargotec made an investigative request to authorities in the summer of 2019 after an internal audit found evidence of suspected financial crimes.
The NBI began a preliminary investigation at the end of 2018.