Leaked internal records have brought new insights into ride sharing firm Uber's close connections with high-ranking leaders around the world.
Among other things, the documents show that the firm systematically broke laws to establish its business in new markets.
The internal records were first handed over to the UK's newspaper The Guardian, which then shared the files with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Editorial staff from Yle's investigative team MOT have also examined the documents, dubbed the "Uber Files."
In Finland, the documents revealed how Uber lobbied politicians to reform the country's long-standing taxi laws.
According to the documents, the firm had direct contact with officials at Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications who worked on the reforms.
At the time, Anne Berner (Cen) served as the transport and communications minister in Prime Minister Juha Sipilä's (Cen) government. Berner, who has a corporate background, and according to the Uber Files, saw positively on Uber's aim to revamp Finland's taxi sector laws.
MOT found that Berner was personally involved in preparing the legislation.
National Coalition Party MP Jukka Kopra, who is also a member of Parliament's Transport and Communications Committee, told MOT that the first draft of the reform package handed to parliament contained so many "crazy ideas," that the proposal didn't even find support among the coalition government.
The level of preparation of the draft legislation was characterised by the committee as weak, and at the same time, the leaked documents showed that Uber managed to get nearly all of its wishes into the draft bill presented by Berner's ministry.
However, the reform proposal underwent a number of changes during the committee's discussion about the legislation before it was voted on.
After the revisions, the reforms were approved by Parliament and implemented in the summer of 2018. The taxi sector's deregulation resulted in opening it to competition and brought along changes to pricing schemes and other liberalisation.
"Better to apologise than ask for permission"
According to the leaked documents, Uber used an aggressive growth strategy and deliberately ignored the law around the world.
In many countries, for example, its chauffeurs were legally required to have taxi permits, but such rules went unheeded. Instead, the firm's internal motto was that "it's better to apologise than ask for permission."
Uber drivers in some countries were earning less than minimum wage but at same time, the target of attacks by authorities. The leaked records showed that Uber saw such attacks as an opportunity to garner sympathy from the media.
The leak also revealed that the firm's executives ordered the implementation of a so-called "kill switch" during police raids, to prevent authorities from accessing internal records, using the arrangement during raids in at least six countries.
The kill-switch was used in at least the countries of the Netherlands, France, Canada, Belgium, India, Hungary and Hong Kong, according to the ICIJ's findings.
One of the firm's founders, Travis Kalanick, was found to have personally decided to use the kill-switch during a police raid of Uber which police carried out in the Netherlands.
Uber spokesperson, Jill Hazelbaker, responded to the Uber Files report in a statement to the ICIJ by acknowledging the company has made mistakes.
However, she added that these days the company is not the same as it used to be.
"We have not and will not make excuses for past behaviour that is clearly not in line with our present values. Instead, we ask the public to judge us by what we’ve done over the last five years and what we will do in the years to come," Hazelbaker's statement read.