Suspect of Vastaamo hacking case arrested in France

Publication date 3.2.2023 13.01 | Published in English on 6.2.2023 at 10.33
News item

A 25-year-old man suspected of the aggravated computer break-in has been arrested in France under a European arrest warrant. The police issued the arrest warrant for the suspect in October 2022.

A 25-year-old Finnish man suspected of hacking the patient data of the psychotherapy centre Vastaamo has been arrested in France on 03 February, 2022. The French police arrested the suspect on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the Finnish police. The police will immediately start taking measures for the suspect’s surrender to Finland.

The surrender process will be handled in close cooperation with the French authorities. The French police are responsible for keeping the suspect in custody until he is surrendered to Finland.

The suspect was arrested in absentia by the Helsinki District Court in October 2022 on probable cause of aggravated attempted extortion, aggravated computer break-in and aggravated dissemination of information violating personal privacy, and the European Arrest Warrant was issued for him. 

– The arrest is the result of long-standing international cooperation and of intelligence gathering by the police. The timing of the surrender process depends on a number of factors, so it is challenging to estimate at this stage when the suspect will be brought to Finland. Once the suspect has been surrendered, a new remand hearing must be held in Finland. The aim is to interview the suspect as soon as possible, says Marko Leponen, Head of Investigation, Detective Chief Inspector of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Criminal investigation into the case is still underway. The police will release further information as soon as possible given the state of the investigation.

Previous press release: One person remanded in absentia for Vastaamo hacking incident

To the victims of the computer break-in: Instructions to victims of Vastaamo hacking incident

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