Finnair suspected of unlawful haulage of defence equipment
Military materiel was on its way from India to Russia via Helsinki
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The Finnish Customs have confiscated a defence equipment consignment belonging to the Indian Air Force at Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport. The military items were on their way from Mumbai in India to Russia.
The shipment consists of 19 crates of airplane parts weighing 1,700 kilograms in total.
The consignment was stopped at the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport in May 2008, because it lacked the transit conveyance permit required for defence equipment. The Customs have submitted a legal advice request to the Indian authorities.
The Customs suspects Antero Lahtinen, the managing director of the Finnish national carrier Finnair’s cargo branch Finnair Cargo, of an export violation. Lahtinen is also a board member of the parent company Finnair.
Lahtinen refuses even to comment on whether he denies the crime suspicions.
“In the preliminary investigation stage the reporting of the affair is the responsibility of the investigating authority, in this case the Customs”, Lahtinen repeats several times when interviewed via the telephone.
A Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations shift supervisor is also suspected of the same offence.
In the Customs’ view, the cargo company transporting defence material has to make sure that all the needed permits are in order before the consignment is accepted into Finland to be delivered further. The consignment arrived in Finland aboard a Finnair flight from Mumbai.
The maximum penalty for an export crime of this nature is four years’ imprisonment.
Russia and India practice extensive cooperation in the fields of aeronautics and weapons technology. Most of the Indian Air Force’s 600 combat-effective aircraft either have been bought from Russia or have been manufactured in India on a Russian licence.
Head of investigation Jenni Lehtilä from the Customs estimates that the preliminary investigation will be completed within the next few months. Lehtilä refuses to reveal details other than the fact that the consignment was on its way to Russia.
Upon completion of the preliminary investigation, the matter will enter the consideration-of-charges phase with the prosecutor’s office.
Sami Rakshit, head of intelligence at the National Board of Customs, explains on a general level that the Customs have several other cases in the preliminary investigation phase that also relate to suspected unlawful transit conveyances of defence material.
The last time the Customs suspected the management of Finnair Cargo of an export violation was in 2004.
At that time Finnair was hauling a weapons consignment without the necessary permits from Amsterdam to Singapore via Helsinki.
In this matter the prosecutor decided not to go ahead with the prosecution.
The Customs filed an appeal with the State Prosecutor, but the State Prosecutor dismissed the appeal.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 24.6.2009 - TODAY |
 Finnair suspected of unlawful haulage of defence equipment |
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