Police suspects Finnish businessmen of fraud in real estate transactions
Xinhua, February 10, 2017 Adjust font size:
The director of a Finnish real estate company and his son were suspected of aggravated fraud in housing transactions with the Russian Federation, Finnish national police agency said on Thursday.
The National Bureau of Investigation of Finland (NBI) has completed the pre-trial investigation, said the Finnish police.
According to NBI, in May 2012, the Russian government sold 58 state-owned properties on a barter basis in the Helsinki metropolitan area (including Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen) and purchased an office building in Helsinki. The Russian government commissioned a Finnish company to handle the business.
NBI suspected that the director of the Finnish company and his son were involved in aggravated fraud against the Russian Federation and obtained illegal gains.
The duo was suspected of undervaluing the Russian-owned real estate properties and selling them at a significantly lower price in the Espoo-based market, the comparatively expansive real estate market in Finland.
The police also suspected a lawyer and two real estate appraisers, who operated in Finland, as well as the director of the Finnish branch of the Russian state-owned real estate company in the same criminal case. Endit