Former management of Turku Television Factory faces fraud investigation

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The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) suspects three foreign managers and owners of the Turku Television Factory of fraud in connection with the bankruptcy of the company five years ago.
      The factory, which has assembled television sets sold under the brand names Finlux, Salora, and Luxor, was bought in 1996 by Semi-Tech, whose parent company was based in Hong Kong.
      According to YLE Television News, the NBI believes that the managers illegally siphoned off tens of millions of euros in sales profits to Hong Kong between 1996 and 2000.
      The NBI says that this led to cash flow problems, and finally to the collapse of the company five years ago. Creditors lost EUR 31.1 million in the bankruptcy.
     
The main creditors were electronics manufacturers which supplied the factory with components, as well as Sampo Bank.
      Semi-Tech sold the factory to its subsidiary Akai in 1999, and after the bankruptcy, to the Norwegian company Otrum Electronics in 2000.
      The company's new management set up a team which bought the Turku TV Factory from Otrum in the spring of 2001. This latest operation ended in a bankruptcy on Tuesday. This most recent bankruptcy was unrelated to the criminal investigation.
      The police investigation has been unusually extensive, branching out to eight countries. Dozens of people have been interrogated, including several Finns.
      The case will move from the NBI to local prosecutors later this year.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Nordic Countries´ only television manufacturer Finlux files for bankruptcy (20.9.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat