At least 930 individuals charged with serious crimes in Finland own or manage companies in Tallinn and elsewhere in Estonia, according to Yle's investigative journalism unit MOT.
The probe found that the convicted Finnish criminals are using Estonia to bypass business bans imposed in their home country or to conceal their assets from creditors.
The report identified 58 individuals banned from conducting business in Finland due to financial crimes, but who continue to operate businesses in Estonia.
A business ban is imposed in cases where the court essentially deems that a person has used a company as a tool for committing crimes. A business ban issued in Finland should also be enforceable in Estonia.
The individuals exposed in the investigation collectively owe over 40 million euros in unpaid debts in Finland, including back taxes and compensation related to criminal activities.
Shell companies in Estonia
A significant number of these companies have no real operations in Estonia and are merely shell companies managed from Finland.
This became evident when a MOT journalist visited the addresses listed for the companies in Estonia's commercial register. For instance, in central Tallinn, there is an address where, according to the commercial register, over 1,500 companies are registered.
Using this address, a service provider sets up companies for its clients and handles their administrative tasks. Several such consulting firms operate in Tallinn offering these services.
One cluster of Finnish-owned companies is located in the Pikaliiva suburb of Tallinn, where more than 150 companies, mostly owned by Finns, are registered in a single residential apartment building.
During its visit, MOT found no signs of any company offices or business operations at the site.
The owners of 17 companies registered at the apartment building have criminal convictions in Finland, including two who are under business bans.
Some of the company owners also have significant outstanding debts. One individual, for instance, owes over two million euros in debt but has still managed to amass over 100,000 euros in assets through their Estonian company.
Not under Finnish jurisdiction
According to the MOT report, the activities of Finnish economic criminals in Estonia often seem to go unnoticed. Finnish police have no jurisdiction in Estonia.
The National Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on the phenomenon or give an interview on this subject.
The harm caused by Finnish economic criminals is often most visible in Finland, which may explain why Estonian authorities are not particularly motivated to investigate these cases, according to the MOT report. The ones who suffer are creditors and the Finnish state.
