Police investigating Rovaniemi property dealings with Nova Group

First step taken in election funding furore

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Police have taken the first step aimed at clearing up the mess linked with election campaign contributions. The economic crimes unit of the police in Finnish Lapland has decided to examine the process in which the Rovaniemi City Council and City Board agreed on the sale of land to Nova Group for a snowmobile factory.
     Nova Group is the single largest contributor to the KMS organisation, channelling EUR 145,000 to the organisation.
     
“An initial review is in progress into whether or not something has happened that would cross the investigation threshold. When the threshold is crossed, there is reason to suspect a crime”, says Martti Kallio, chief of the police of the Rovaniemi district. If that happens, the police will begin the actual preliminary investigation.
     Kallio says that the police are looking into zoning decisions, and the decision-making process for the sale of land.
     “First we will make sure, from the protocols of meetings and sources, what has happened”, Kallio says.
     
The matter is being studied by a joint task force of the Rovaniemi police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which examines both economic crimes and crimes related to political decision-making.
     On Tuesday, the newspaper Kaleva wrote that the Centre Party’s head of development Lasse Kontiola took part in a decision in the City Council of Rovaniemi on a zoning change, allowing the sale of the lot of a snowmobile factory to the Nova Group. This was at a time in which Kontiola had access to the bank accounts of the KMS association, set up to provide funding for selected candidates in last year’s Parliamentary elections.
     Also backing the decision of the Rovaniemi City Council was City Board Chairman Ari Ruotsalainen (Centre) who was granted EUR 10,000 in election campaign subsidies by KMS.
      The Nova Group has sold the building of the new snowmobile factory to the Local Government Pensions Institution (KEVA) for EUR 20 million. Deciding on the deal on the Board of KEVA were deputy chairwoman Vappu-Leena Malmgren (Centre) and MP Sampsa Kataja (Nat. Coalition Party. Kataja got EUR 5,000 in campaign contributons while Malmgren got EUR 3,000.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  KMS support to Vanhanen campaign: Centre Party’s Kontiola made bank transaction (9.6.2008)
  Nova Group backed KMS with at least EUR 145,000 (6.6.2008)

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