Kanta-Häme District Court has ordered two men to remain behind bars on suspicion of aggravated money laundering and aggravated embezzlement. The two are accused of defrauding Ukraine out of nearly three million euros’ worth of bulletproof vests.
The court in Hämeenlinna dismissed charges against a third person who had also been detained on suspicion of scamming Ukrainian business partners.
One of the suspects worked for an organisation set up in Pirkanmaa to help Ukrainians.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is investigating the case in partnership with Ukraine's anti-corruption agency, Nabu.
“The criminal investigation is still at the initial stage and the criminal acts will be more precisely classified as the investigations progress. The criminal investigation has established that the Finnish entrepreneur diverted part of the funds to pay [for] his own debts and purchases, namely cars and real estate,” the head of the Finnish investigation, Detective Superintendent Kaj Björkqvist of the NBI said in a statement on Friday.
He told Yle that the suspects have denied any wrongdoing.
"Luxury cars and real estate"
According to the NBI, the suspects signed a contract to deliver protective equipment to the war zone in Ukraine soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry paid the company approximately 5.7 million euros in April 2022. However, the suspects delivered only half of the agreed equipment.
The NBI has investigated the matter in cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities, who have their own investigation into the case.
Ukraine's anti-corruption agency Nabu said on Thursday that the case involved the delivery of 5,000 protective vests.
"Among the detainees is a representative of a private company that failed to supply 50 percent of the purchased and fully paid-for body armour to the Ministry of Defence. The detainees spent part of these funds to buy luxury cars and real estate," Nabu said.
It added that "measures are being taken to ensure compensation for the damages incurred".