According to Finland’s tax administration, last year saw more fraud cases than any other year in the last decade. Last year police recorded some 1,842 cases.
Meanwhile tax officials report that aggravated tax fraud was up last year while the number of cases of so-called 'aggravated debtor's dishonesty' has risen by 22 percent in the past three years. This includes hiding assets to avoid having them seized to pay off one's debts.
The Tax Administration conducted more than 4,500 tax audits in both 2014 and 2015. That’s about a thousand more than in previous years.
In 2015 tax officials made some 543 criminal reports, more than 80 percent of them for aggravated tax fraud. Most of their reports end in conviction, with just 29 acquittals from 300 cases last year.