Finland

Finland

The Finnish Desk is headed by Heli Vesaaja, who is the National Member for Finland since August 2023.

In 2023, the Finnish Desk was involved in 122 new cases, 24 coordination meetings, and 13 joint investigation teams.

National Member

Heli Vesaaja
Heli Vesaaja

National Member

Heli Vesaaja was appointed National Member for Finland at Eurojust on 1 August 2023. Prior to joining Eurojust, Ms Vesaaja worked for the Prosecution District of Southern Finland, as a prosecutor since 1997 and as a senior specialised prosecutor since 2019. Since 2007, she has specialised in organised crime, drug trafficking and money laundering. She has actively participated in multiple joint investigation teams.

Ms Vesaaja has been working in the field of international cooperation since 2002. In addition to her career as a prosecutor, Ms Vesaaja has worked at the European Court of Human Rights as a court lawyer, in the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) as a magistrate, as a senior adviser for legislative matters at the Finnish Ministry of Justice, and as a Seconded National Expert to the Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security, at the European Commission.

Until 2021, Ms Vesaaja was a member of the International Unit of the Helsinki Prosecutor’s Office. Prior to her appointment as a National Member, she also served for many years as a Contact Point for the European Judicial Network (EJN).

Contact the Finnish Desk

Contact information is available on the intranet of the National Prosecution Authority.

Yhteystiedot löytyvät Syyttäjälaitoksen Intrasta.

Casework

 

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

New cases (total)
- of which initiating
- of which participating

72
36
36

88
46
42

92
49
43

132
86
46

134
80
54

107
67
40

122
75
47

Coordination meetings (initiating and/or participating)

14

8

12

16

15

30

24

Coordination centres (organising and/or participating)

1

-

1

1

-

3

-

Joint investigation teams (newly signed and/or ongoing)

6

11

7

7

11

10

13


Case examples

Eurojust coordinates action against massive investment fraud with hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide

Joint Investigation Teams - Funded by Eurojust

From at least 2016 - Hundreds of thousands of investors all over the world fall victim to fraud by being lured into making fake cryptocurrency investments. Dozens of call centres and hundreds of fraudulent websites are set up by the suspected OCG

2018 - Investigations into the cyber scam begin, with seven countries opening judicial cases against the OCG to date.

Between March 2020 and March 2023 - Thirteen coordination meetings are organised to coordinate the national investigations and prepare for the action day. The Agency facilitates the execution of International Arrest Warrants, EIOs and Letters of Request to third countries.

April 2021 - Eurojust supports and funds a JIT, set up at the request of the Swedish authorities, also involving Albania, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Spain and Ukraine.

8-9 November 2022 - Eurojust sets up a coordination centre to enable rapid cooperation between the involved judicial authorities during the joint action day. Fifteen call centres are searched (6 in Albania, 5 in Georgia, 3 in Ukraine and 1 in North Macedonia), as well as 5 vehicles and 27 other locations, including in Bulgaria. Five suspects are arrested, four in Albania and one in Georgia. Approximately 50 hearings of suspects and witnesses are conducted.

Overall, the seizures include over 500 electronic devices, more than EUR 340 000 in cash, several mobile phones, bank accounts, bank cards, cryptocurrency wallets, ID documents and properties. In Georgia alone, approximately 12 000 000 Euros worth of properties, EUR 480 000 from bank accounts, EUR 565 000 in cash and 15 luxury watches are seized.

flags of ES, DE, SW, FI, BG, LV, Albania, Georgie, Macedonia, Ukraine, logo of Europol and Eurojust

Takedown of infrastructure of call centres involved in online investment fraud responsible for losses of at least EUR 20 million

Joint Investigation Teams - Funded by Eurojust

Crime: An international OCG commits online investment fraud by convincing victims online and by telephone to make payments to invest in cryptocurrencies. The OCG uses a large-scale IT infrastructure that includes tens of virtual servers, connected by computers in call centres.

The perpetrators install remote access programmes that allow them to illegally access the victims’ computers and steal their banking credentials. More than 30 000 people from around 71 countries (with roughly 522 victims registered in Estonia alone) are defrauded of at least EUR 20 million.

Action: Authorities in Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, France, Germany and Ukraine support a joint operation on 21 April 2022 to disrupt and paralyse the criminal activities of the OCG.

Result: More than 50 servers are seized (taken down and data copied), in Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, France and Germany.

Eurojust's Role: Eurojust facilitates judicial cooperation by setting up and funding a JIT. Two coordination meetings are organised to coordinate the national investigations and prepare for the action day. To support the action day, Eurojust sets up a coordination centre to enable rapid cooperation between the involved judicial authorities.

Flags of ET, FI, NL, LV, FR, DE, UA, Europol, Eurojust logos