Helsinki Police recover 1.8 million in criminal proceeds – number of debtor's offences almost doubles

Economic crime and human trafficking are international phenomena. Tackling them requires close cooperation between authorities, both within Finland and across borders.

Helsinki Police have made effective progress in seizing the proceeds sought through economic crime. In the first half of 2026, the police recovered around 1.8 million in criminally acquired assets. In 2025, a total of around 3.5 million in criminal proceeds was recovered.

At the same time, the economic pressures facing society are becoming increasingly visible in economic crime. The environment for investigating economic crime has grown more demanding in recent years. In Helsinki, the number of debtor's offences in particular has almost doubled within a few years. This trend is linked to a sharp rise in company bankruptcies. In 2025, around 3,300 companies in Finland were declared bankrupt, compared with around 3,000 the year before and around 2,700 in 2023. This rise in bankruptcies is reflected directly in the number of debtor's offences reported to the police. It also adds to the workload across the whole criminal justice chain, from the police to the Prosecution Service and the courts.

The number of reported economic crimes has risen steadily throughout the 2020s. In 2025, almost 2,800 economic crimes were reported in Finland, around 560 of them in Helsinki. Police departments in the Helsinki metropolitan area recorded around 45 per cent of all economic crimes reported in Finland.

The most common economic crimes are tax fraud, dishonesty by a debtor, accounting offences, and fraud committed in business operations.
Economic crime has also become more international. Money is increasingly moved abroad, and cryptocurrencies are used as a means of transferring funds linked to economic crime. As a result, investigating economic crime increasingly requires international cooperation between authorities.

In Helsinki, nearly as many economic crime cases are closed each year as are reported, and around 55 per cent of closed cases proceed to consideration of charges. In 2026, 194 economic crime cases have moved to consideration of charges.

"Recovering criminal proceeds is one of the most effective ways to tackle economic crime. The international nature of economic crime, and the constantly changing methods used by offenders, mean that authorities must cooperate effectively, both within Finland and internationally," says Detective Superintendent Lauri Huittinen, Head of Economic Crime Investigations at the Helsinki Police Crime Investigation Unit.

Current cases in economic crime investigations

Since late autumn 2025, Helsinki Police have been carrying out a pre-trial investigation into aggravated fraud. Two representatives of the City of Helsinki are suspected of aggravated fraud, committed together with a subcontractor working for the City.

Two deputy landlords employed by the City are suspected of colluding with a contractor to over-invoice for work including flat renovations. The scheme is alleged to have been split between three suspects. Two City employees alone are suspected of channelling more than €600,000 in fraudulently obtained funds to themselves between 2023 and 2025. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and the case is expected to move to consideration of charges later this year.

Around 5 million in evaded taxes and pension insurance contributions

In spring 2026, a large pre-trial investigation into the grey economy was passed from Helsinki Police to consideration of charges. The investigation covered two sets of offences, in which people from a partly overlapping circle are suspected of committing numerous economic crimes. Together, the companies involved are suspected of evading around €5 million in taxes and pension insurance contributions.

In both sets of offences, the crimes are alleged to have begun in 2015 and continued until 2021.

Funds used to pay employees' wages were allegedly channelled through around 20 different associated companies, using falsified subcontractor invoices. The companies involved are suspected of having used so-called nominee arrangements in their administration, designed to conceal who was actually responsible for running them.
More than 30 people are suspected across the two sets of offences. Over 200 people, in various roles, have been questioned during the investigation. In addition, significant amounts of personal income tax have gone unassessed for people suspected of receiving undeclared wages. The police have also investigated suspected aggravated tax fraud relating to unreported wages for more than 25 employees.

One characteristic feature of these offences is that the companies and employees involved made extensive use of foreign banking services. Several international requests for legal assistance have been made to trace the movement of funds and to interview the parties involved.

This set of offences was unusually extensive, and the conduct continued over several years. Some of the suspects were arrested by police in 2024.

Helsinki Police investigate dozens of cases of labour exploitation every year

Investigations into labour exploitation typically involve offences such as extortionate work discrimination, usury, human trafficking, and various forms of fraud. These investigations often uncover suspected offences related to organising illegal entry into the country at the same time.

In the first half of 2026, almost 20 investigations into labour exploitation moved to consideration of charges. These cases involved more than 50 injured parties in total. In 2025, close to 40 such investigations moved to consideration of charges.

Current trends in human trafficking investigations

In recent years, investigations into labour exploitation have increasingly uncovered the use of so-called threshold fees. Typically, a worker coming to Finland is required to pay a fee in their home country to secure a job. This fee can range from a few thousand euros up to €25,000. It is often financed through debt, forcing the victim to sell or pawn property, or assets needed to earn a living, in their home country.

The exploitation can continue after arrival in Finland. The promised job may not actually exist, or the amount of work may turn out to be far less than agreed. Wages may also be paid at a lower rate than agreed, or not paid at all. Debt and fear of failure can prevent the victim from returning home, leaving them exposed to further exploitation.
Investigations have also uncovered cases where applications for work-based residence permits were made using false or misleading information. These have included fabricated employment contracts, or false information about the employer or the terms of employment.

Education-based immigration

The police have also identified exploitation linked to education-based immigration. Agents operating abroad have marketed Finland to students by promising, alongside their studies, guaranteed employment or financial support. Some students who came to Finland later found that these promises were not fulfilled.

Such cases often only come to the attention of the police once the people involved are already in Finland, facing financial hardship, without the promised job or sufficient means to support themselves. In Finland, these cases are typically investigated as organising illegal entry into the country.

Procuring linked to prostitution

Investigations into sexual exploitation often involve extensive sets of offences connected to organised crime, both nationally and internationally. These investigations most commonly examine aggravated procuring or procuring, along with related suspicions of money laundering. Criminal groups typically aim to gain significant financial benefit by arranging paid sex in Finland.

In many cases, people selling sexual services arrive in Finland from other European countries, or from outside Europe, arranged by criminal groups. These groups organise the travel, accommodation, and practical arrangements, and take a share of the proceeds.

The police aim to identify the people organising this activity in Finland, trace the criminal proceeds, and investigate the workings of international criminal networks, in cooperation with authorities in other countries. At the same time, investigators assess whether the sale of sexual services involves coercion, deception, or violence, in which case the acts may also meet the definition of human trafficking.

"Human trafficking is often organised, international crime, aimed at gaining significant financial benefit by exploiting people. Victims do not always dare, or are not always able, to seek help from the authorities. That is why identifying and investigating this phenomenon plays a key role in safeguarding people's rights and in tackling the grey economy," says Detective Superintendent Lauri Huittinen.