Prohibitions on business activities

The purpose of prohibitions on business activities is to ensure that persons who have engaged in unfair business practices cannot join the business community. 

A person can be prohibited from engaging in business activities if they have neglected their business-related statutory responsibilities. Offences committed during business activities can also be a reason for prohibiting someone from engaging in business activities.

In such a case, the prohibition order will be given in connection with the court judgement. The duration of such prohibitions varies from three to seven years. The court will decide on the contents and duration of the prohibition order.

The police monitor adherence to prohibitions on business activities

In Finland, the police monitor adherence to prohibitions on business activities. Once the prohibition has come into force, the police will conduct a review of the subject’s business activities before the prohibition and what measures they have taken in response to it. Persons subject to a prohibition on business activities are obligated to provide the information necessary for this review. 

Persons subject to a prohibition on business activities shall provide the police with a summary of their income and the details of their workplace. In practice, this summary is obtained by summoning the subject for an interview at a police station. Every subject is assigned a supervisor at their local police department. The supervisor is responsible for monitoring the subject’s adherence to the prohibition, and the subject may contact them regarding matters related to their prohibition.

Acting as a dummy buyer for someone who is subject to a prohibition on business activities is a crime

Breach of a prohibition on business activities is a punishable offence. Additionally, persons acting as intermediaries for a subject may in turn be subjected to a prohibition. For example, if a CEO and board member of a company who has been prohibited from engaging in business activities transfers their formal positions to another while continuing, in reality, to manage the company themselves, both persons may be found guilty of breaching the prohibition.

People sometimes falsify business registers in an attempt to disguise the identity of the person managing business activities. In such a case, the person or persons falsifying records can be found guilty of a registration offence. 

Punishments

The punishment for breaching a prohibition on business activities is a fine or a maximum of two years of imprisonment.

The punishment for a registration offence is a fine or a maximum of three years of imprisonment. 

The act on prohibitions on business activities on Finlex (in Finnish) 

The Criminal Code on Finlex