The court found the ministry official guilty of accepting bribes from the fruit company chief | Yle News

The bulk of the case hinged on the purchase of two violins.

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A senior official at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Olli SorainenHe was found guilty of aggravated bribery and abuse of public office by the Helsinki District Court on Thursday.

The court also found the former CEO of fruit company Polarica Marjahankinta: Jukka KristoGuilty of bribing Sorainen.

The trial started in AugustThe prosecutor requested that Sorainen’s sentence be postponed.

During the trial, the court heard Sorainen asked for and received help from Kristo to buy two violins. The musical instruments were for Sorainen’s children.

Sorainen was given a one-year suspended prison sentence. He was also ordered to resign from his public position at the ministry and pay back to the state the value of the bribe of approximately 7,500 euros.

The court gave Kristo an eight-month suspended sentence. Polarica Marjanhankinta, the fruit picking company he leads, was ordered to pay a fine of 50,000 euros.

There was a third defendant in the bribery case. The financial director of the Berry company was initially suspected of aiding the bribe, but the district court dismissed the charge.

two violins

The court heard Sorainen asked Kristo at the end of 2019 to buy a violin and bow for use by Sorainen’s children. This request was sent from Sorainen’s e-mail account at the ministry.

The court heard Sorainen requested an instrument priced between €10,000 and €14,000. Kristo gave 5,000 euros for the purchase of the instrument.

The court then heard that Sorainen approached Kristo again in 2022, asking for 4,600 euros to buy a more expensive violin, and Kristo agreed to contribute 2,500 euros.

The defendants claimed the payments were related to the legal sponsorship of a young musician. However, the court found that Sorainen kept the musical instruments and that the request for financial assistance was connected to his work at the ministry.

Sorainen was one of the central figures in the ministry regarding fruit picking legislation and permitting issues.

The district court also found that in 2021, Sorainen assisted fruit picking firm Polarica Marjahankinta after ensuring that the number of Thai fruit pickers did not drop by 25 percent (from 500 to 375) as the company wanted.

The police’s preliminary investigation into the incident estimated that this move provided the company with a financial gain of at least 780,000 euros.

Former CEO Kristo also faces 77 accusations Case of aggravated human trafficking in the Lapland District Court.

Kristo and his business partner, Kalyakorn Phongpit It is suspected that he was subjected to Thai fruit pickers In 2022, a record number of 4,000 fruit pickers from Thailand came to work in Finland due to forced labor and other degrading conditions.