Bribery trial of MP Ilkka Kanerva begins

Prosecutor links Kanerva’s 60th birthday celebrations with serious corruption

Ilkka Kanerva

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MP and former Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coalition Party), whose trial on allegations of taking bribes began in Helsinki on Monday, denies any wrongdoing, and insists that his conscience is completely clean.
      State Prosecutor Jukka Rappe, on the other hand, said that Kanerva has enjoyed benefits linking him with serious structural corruption targeting important functions of society.
      The charges surround Kanerva’s activities as the chairman of the board of the Regional Council of Southwest Finland in 2006-2008.
     
The prosecution says that businessmen Kyösti Kakkonen, Arto Merisalo, Toivo Sukari, and Tapani Yli-Saunamäki were planning to set up massive shopping complexes in the area, and needed suitable areas.
      At the same time they supported Kanerva’s election campaign and his 60th birthday celebrations to the tune of EUR 56,000.
     
Prosecutor Rappe says that the key question in the trial is whether or not at least some of the benefits that Kanerva got from the businessmen were in return for help in the shopping mall projects.
      “Kanerva was certainly in a position to influence preparations for zoning”, Rappe said.
      In addition to Kanerva, the businessmen named in the indictment also denied any involvement in bribery. They said that they were simply supporting the political activities and the birthday celebrations of a respected man of influence, and denied that they would have had any shopping complex plans under preparation that Kanerva would have been able to influence in the regional council.
     
The businessmen also denied speaking to Kanerva on zoning matters, or even of knowing about his role in the regional council.
      “This is completely ridiculous. Nobody has ever started thinking about that kind of equation. We have been supporting a Finnish minister and his birthday celebrations”, Kyösti Kakkonen said.
     
Kanerva’s lawyer Matti Manner gave a long list of tasks that his client had fulifilled over a period of nearly 40 years, saying that he received electoral support over the years from hundreds of communities and people.
      Manner says that Kanerva’s backers wanted to help him continue work on the national and international level, and did not try to influence his activities in the regional council.
      Manner also said that the 60th birthday celebrations came as a surprise to Kanerva, and he had not taken part in their arrangements. All that Kanerva knew in advance was the place and the dress code.
      The prosecution is calling for a two-year prison sentence for Kanerva.
     


Previously in HS International Edition:
  MP and former Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva to face aggravated bribery charges over EUR 50,000 contributions (28.1.2011)
  Kanerva bribery investigation passed on to prosecutors for consideration (6.9.2010)
  Police question Ilkka Kanerva over financing of 60th birthday party (29.3.2010)

Links:
  Ilkka Kanerva (Wikipedia)

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