Suspects collected kickbacks from nurses for arrival in Finland – some injured parties became indebted due to the payments

The national human trafficking investigative team of the Helsinki Police Department is transferring a suspected criminal case for the consideration of charges as aggravated usury. The police suspects that kickbacks were collected from up to 200 Ethiopian healthcare employees. The prime suspect has remained in custody since July.

In 2021, a Finnish healthcare company purchased recruitment services from a recruitment agency. The aim was to recruit 1,000 healthcare employees in Finland from Ethiopia. The recruitment agency signed an outsourcing service agreement with the prime suspect. The suspect was living in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

“When the employees arrived in Finland, the employer and recruitment agency discovered that some of the nurses had been forced to make an advance payment for their arrival in Finland. The injured parties paid thousands of euros to the prime suspect and their company in Ethiopia,” says Sami Isoniemi, senior detective superintendent and lead investigator.

The act is under investigation as usury in a case between contracting partners. According to the pre-trial investigation, the agreement’s content remained unclear for the injured parties, and there were no grounds for the payments.

The recruitment agency has provided information about the shortcomings discovered publicly, and the police does not suspect the agency or its employees of any crime. The company terminated the outsourcing service agreement with the prime suspect when the suspected crime was discovered.

Kickback payments equalled wages of several years

The police first suspected that the prime suspect had collected kickbacks from a few employees. During the pre-trial investigation, it was discovered that payments were demanded from all nurses arrived from Ethiopia.

The kickback was EUR 4,000 per person. This amount equals wages of several years in Ethiopia. In Finland, it would correspond to roughly EUR 200,000 of earned income. 

“Several injured parties have become indebted due to the high kickbacks,” lead investigator Sami Isoniemi says.

Based on the pre-trial investigation, a single kickback was divided into two instalments. The first and smaller instalment was paid to an Ethiopian company, whereas the second was paid directly to bank accounts used by the prime suspect.

During the pre-trial investigation, the police gathered evidence of the payments and found that the first payments came in at the same time as the outsourcing service agreement entered into force.

The suspects exploited the injured parties’ financial difficulties

A few dozen injured parties have already reported to the police. According to the police’s estimates, there are some 200 people in Ethiopia who only paid part of the kickback and have never arrived in Finland.

The prime suspect concealed the arrangements in Ethiopia from the healthcare company and recruitment agency. The agreement between the companies and the prime suspect separately prevented any collection of payments from individuals recruited to work in Finland.

“The prime suspect established a consulting company in Ethiopia with another suspect living there. Nurses entered into a written agreement with the company, agreeing upon recruitment-related services and a payment charged for them,” says lead investigator Sami Isoniemi.

Based on the pre-trial investigation, the suspects exploited the injured parties’ financial difficulties and lack of knowledge. The injured parties were in a disadvantaged position relative to their contracting partner. The services provided by the suspects were also out of proportion to the kickbacks paid.

In the criminal case, two other people living outside Finland are suspected in addition to the prime suspect. During the pre-trial investigation, the Helsinki Police Department was engaged in official administrative cooperation with Ethiopia and an EU Member State.

“When conducting the pre-trial investigation, we also determined that, in accordance with preliminary estimates, the suspected offence is also punishable by Ethiopian law,” says lead investigator Sami Isoniemi.

Kickbacks are a deep-rooted problem in several sectors

The completed pre-trial investigation involved the largest number of injured parties in all kickback cases investigated by the Police of Finland. 

“The national human trafficking investigative team of the Helsinki Police Department is investigating two other kickback cases, involving the cleaning and construction sectors. The injured parties are from countries regarding which there have not previously been any pre-trial investigations for kickbacks in Finland,” says senior detective superintendent Sami Isoniemi.

What all these kickback cases have in common is that the amounts collected have been unreasonably high. The contracting parties exploit the injured parties’ ignorance, carelessness or financial difficulties.

Kickbacks range in different countries from a few thousands to tens of thousands of euros. The suspects claim that the payments are required for employment contract fees, an easier arrival in Finland, and consulting services. 

“The authorities have been better aware of the size of this phenomenon, as a result of which the pre-trial investigation authorities also obtain more information about it. While some victims go quiet about the phenomenon, people are increasingly realising that this type of activity is illegal. This is a deep-rooted large-scale problem, which can be seen in almost all sectors, in which people come to work in Finland from other countries. Kickbacks are a particular issue in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Balkans,” senior detective superintendent Sami Isoniemi says.

A few years ago, the Ostrobothnia Police Department uncovered a criminal case, in which kickbacks were collected from Vietnamese greenhouse workers. The national human trafficking investigative team of the Helsinki Police Department and the National Bureau of Investigation also participated in the pre-trial investigation.