On Thursday, Chancellor of Justice Jaakko Jonkka said that there had been a conflict of interest when Vanhanen had taken part in a decision on allocating funds earned by the state-owned Finnish Slot Machine Association to Nuorisosäätiö – a youth housing foundation that had contributed thousands of euros to Vanhanen’s 2006 Presidential election campaign.
The matter is to go before the Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee next week, for consideration of possible criminal charges.
Anne Berner, chair of the board of the association says that actions that Vanhanen may have taken as Prime Minister have no bearing on his position with the association.
However, some of the 26 officials of the association feared that the furore could do harm for the association’s public image.