Interior Ministry inspection exonerates Security Police

Prosecutor: investigation into minor fraud justified

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Inspectors of the Ministry of the Interior have not found anything improper in the actions of Finland’s Security Police (SUPO) in the case of a man who was deported from Sweden to Finland.
      Helsingin Sanomat reported last month about Sweden's deportation of a Finnish citizen suspected of having contact with terrorists.
      In Finland SUPO made a criminal complaint of the man to the Helsinki police, on suspicion that he had committed fraud against the Social Insurance Institution (KELA) by collecting benefits while living in Sweden.
      The Helsinki police did not find any evidence of fraud, and the prosecutor decided not to prosecute. Suspicions were raised that the real reason for the move was to get an excuse for an investigation into the man to see if evidence of other suspicious activities might be found.
     
The Ministry of the Interior decided to examine SUPO’s actions after the news came out. According to the investigation report, SUPO had the legal right to file a criminal complaint with the local police.
      The inspection report does not specify what kind of evidence SUPO might have had have had of alleged benefit fraud.
     
The report notes that SUPO held discussions with the public prosecutor before making the criminal complaint.
      Taking part in the investigation of SUPO’s activities was Chief Inspector of Police at the Ministry of the Interior Robin Lardot, who says that the Prosecutor General’s office has its own role in the investigation of crimes of terrorism. Under the law only the Prosecutor General has jurisdiction to prosecute suspected terror crimes.
      Lardot says that SUPO has held discussions with the prosecutor on the matter on a general level. However, SUPO has not started a preliminary investigation into any crimes of terror.
     
Prosecutor Sakari Tiilikainen of the Helsinki prosecutor’s office says that he was not contacted by SUPO before the criminal complaint was made.
      Tiilikainen says that using the suspicion of benefit fraud as a starting point for the investigation was extraordinary.
      “From the beginning, the police had something completely different in mind, but we ended up with this kind of a fraud case, and even that dried up”, Tiilikainen says.
      However, he feels that legitimate grounds existed for the investigation.
     
Deputy Chief of Police Jari Liukku of the Helsinki police force says that the investigation into the suspected fraud was conducted properly.
      According to the report, SUPO did not get the kind of material from the Helsinki police that it would not have been legally entitled to.
      According to information obtained by Helsingin Sanomat, SUPO got a copy of the hard drive of the suspect’s computer.
      Tiilikainen says that it is not typical to check a suspect’s computer in connection with an investigation into fraud. Information from the computer was not included in the investigation material of the fraud case.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sweden expels Finnish citizen on suspicion of terrorist connections (18.11.2009)
  Pressure in Parliament to upgrade supervision of Security Police (20.11.2009)
  SUPO actions in deportation of Finn from Sweden to be investigated (19.11.2009)

Helsingin Sanomat