The business ban imposed in Finland is circumvented by operating through Estonia.
There is no exact information on the extent of the phenomenon, but according to ‘s report, it is not just isolated cases.
There were 778 people banned from doing business in Finland in January. 46 of them were involved in business in Estonia. Some of these people also ran businesses in Finland.
The matter came to light when familiarized itself with Finnish and Estonian register data and contacted some people who were banned from doing business in Estonia.
Two of the five contacted entrepreneurs said that cooperation in Finland is going well. The people didn’t know they were talking to ‘s reporter, who presented himself as a potential customer.
Excerpt from the conversation between a journalist and a southern Finnish entrepreneur.
Business bans are national, meaning they do not apply outside Finland’s borders. However, it is forbidden to conduct business that extends from abroad to Finland.
A business ban is imposed for financial crimes. The ban, which lasts from three to seven years, aims to prevent new crimes and financial abuses.
The professor is not surprised
Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Procedural Law Matti Tolvanen The University of Eastern Finland is not surprised that the business ban imposed in Finland is circumvented through Estonia.
Legally, according to him, the matter is simple.
– If a person subject to a ban conducts business in Finland, then he is guilty of violating the ban.
Excerpt from the conversation between a journalist and a Western Finnish entrepreneur.
Violation of a court-ordered business ban is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of two years.
Mere violation of the ban usually results in fines. Combined with other financial crimes, breaking the ban can result in a prison sentence.
Obtaining proof of a violation of the prohibition in court is difficult, because the roles and responsibilities of the people involved in business operations are often difficult to determine.
Ordering a business ban does not prevent a person, for example, from being an employee of a company whose shares he himself owns. Tolvanen reminds that economic criminals can also use bulvans, i.e. indirect representatives in the companies they manage.
Control difficult
In Finland, local police supervise compliance with business bans.
– The supervised person is first given an initial investigation, which is practically an interrogation. The supervision is continuous throughout the ban, describes the criminal constable Sampo Lind Central Criminal Police.
According to Lindi, the police come to the attention of dozens of cases every year in which a person is suspected of having violated a business ban.
Violation of the business ban is a typical hidden crime that comes to light as it is investigated.
In October 2021, the police enforced compliance with business bans for a week. At that time, 70 cases were checked and 55 banned persons were interviewed.
The result was that a few people were suspected of violating the court-ordered business ban.
– It is not an easy law to monitor closely. In Finland, control is still possible with the help of registers, but it becomes difficult when borders are crossed, says professor emeritus Tolvanen.
Cross-border solutions are needed
Estonia has previously said that it “recognizes” the business bans imposed in Finland, but based on ‘s report, it seems to have little practical meaning.
The number of transactions reaching Finland can be affected by the fact that since 2015, e-citizenship has been offered to foreign citizens in Estonia, which facilitates electronic transactions and establishing a company from abroad.
CEO of the e-citizenship program Lauri Haav estimate in another year For Estonian Public Radiothat e-citizens have founded around 20,000 new companies in Estonia.
Emeritus Professor Tolvanen thinks that it would be good to decide on the business ban and its supervision at the EU level.
However, there is a long way to go. Tolvanen compares a business ban to a driving ban imposed on drivers. The control of that is also a problem between EU member states, even though taking away a driver’s license should in principle be much simpler than monitoring a business.
There are many national differences in the criminal law relating to the economy.
Tolvanen reminds that in all EU countries, a business ban is not in the range of punishments, which makes unifying legislation and agreeing on supervision challenging.
Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen (ps.) did not comment on the matter to .
Read more: The MOT found out: In many Finnish companies, the power is exercised by those convicted of financial crimes – the police do not have accurate information about those who violate the business ban