Finland Times

 

Chinese businessman Wang Jiazhu at Helsinki District Court on Monday, 21 September 2015. Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.

The Helsinki District Court considered Monday whether Finland should pay compensation to a Chinese businessman for a raid and a preliminary investigation into his business house called China Centre that found no crimes. 

 

The businessman demands more than 4.4 million euros from the Border Guard and the Tax Administration.

 

The Border Guard performed a major raid in 2009 on the business centre amid widespread media coverage of suspected gross illegal entry. However, a preliminary investigation showed no crimes were committed.

 

The court heard from Jiazhu Wang, owner and operator of China Centre, who claimed that the preliminary investigation and media attention ruined both his reputation and his business. China Centre was supposed to be a wholesale centre for Chinese companies, which would have served the European and Russian markets.

 

Jarkko Jaatela, the lawyer representing the Border Guard showed in the courtroom that before the raids, Wang’s company had performed poorly, losing 1.5 million euros from 2006 to 2009.

 

According to Wang’s testimony, a lot of money was invested in the new business venture.

 

“Due to the raid, I lost all the money I invested,” Wang said.