Criminal charges considered in lease agreements of police buildings

Police chiefs and two Interior Ministry officials suspected of negligence

print this

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has completed an extensive criminal investigation linked with leases of buildings used as police headquarters and court houses.
      Two top civil servants of the Ministry of the Interior and the police chiefs of the cities of Kouvola and Raisio are under suspicion of culpable negligence in their official duties.
      A year ago Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki (SDP) requested that the NBI investigate a total of 14 police and court building projects that took place from 1999 to 2002.
      The exceptionally lengthy lease contracts of the buildings are believed to be leading to losses to the state of as much as EUR 100 million. Rajamäki made the request for an investigation following a report from an internal inquiry.
     
According to the NBI, the projects in the southeastern city of Kouvola and Raisio in the southwest gave reason to suspect criminal actions.
      In both cities subsidiaries of Palmberg, a company which is part of the Lemminkäinen Group, built new facilities for police and legal officials in the early part of the decade.
      In Kouvola the police signed a 30-year lease for the property, and in Raisio, a 20-year lease was extended to 25 years. Police chiefs who decided on the contracts are suspected of having neglected their official duties by committing the state to lengthy and economically disadvantageous agreements.
      "In these kinds of office buildings, the absolute maximum would seem to be between 15 and 20 years. Then changes need to be made because the property starts to deteriorate. With a 30-year lease all expenses would fall on the tenant", says Tapio Kalliokoski, one of the NBI investigators.
     
Rajamäki says that the police chiefs are not solely responsible for the problem, as they are not the only signatories to the contracts.
      "It had to take place under the guidance of the ministry in one way or another", he says.
      The NBI suspects that officials of the regional administration development unit of the Ministry of the Interior were involved in only the Raisio affair.
      In Raisio, police chief Jaakko Kares says that the same procedure has been in force for 30 years. "Some formal interpretation of the law or legal paragraph might be found, but chiefs of police are not experts in construction. In other words, the agreements have been made on the basis of instructions from the ministry", he says.
      Kouvola police chief Erkki Lehto also disputes the validity of the charges. He says that a 20-year lease would have involved a higher rent than with the longer agreement.
     
All of the suspects have denied any wrongdoing. The matter will go before the office of the Prosecutor General on Thursday.
      State prosecutor Jukka Rappe will have to decide if the evidence suggests that the state has suffered financial harm, and if the rules governing decision-making in the matter have been clear enough. According to Rappe a decision on pressing charges will be made in the coming weeks.
      Culpable negligence of official duties can bring a warning or a fine. The Ministry of the Interior is investigating other projects involving the provision of office space for the state.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Authorities consider criminal investigation into rental agreements of police buildings (2.4.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat