Finland Times

Russian President Vladimir Putin Photo AFP-Lehtikuva

The name of Russian President Vladimir Putin was found on a crime suspect list of the National Bureau of Investigation, a fact that astonished the government and the news media.

 

 

Television channel MTV3 revealed the information on Wednesday.

 

Helsinki responded to the news sharply, clarifying that the name might have been included in the list mistakenly. 

 

The government, however, regretted the mistake and pledged to find out whether it was really a mistake or not.

 

At a press briefing in the evening, Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen made a sincere apology for the gross mistake.

 

Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen, Photo Lehtikuva

The minister said such mistakes should not be allowed and the authorities had taken serious measures to prevent recurrence of such mistakes in the future.

 

Räsänen also observed that not only to the president of Finland’s next-door neighbour, it should not have happened to any citizen.

 

The minister also said the police should explain how the suspect list was managed, monitored, and tracked.

 

Police Director Robin Lardot termed the incident a technical fault and said it, therefore, did not correspond to any malicious mentality.

 

The police boss also said he did not believe the name of the Russian president could hit the list. It is unbelievable that someone would put the name on the list deliberately, he added.

 

National Police Commissioner Mikko Paatero said it was a gross mistake which had no legal justification.

National Police Commissioner Mikko Paatero, Photo Lehtikuva

 

Government sources said if needed, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, scheduled to visit Russia on Monday, would express regrets there officially.

 

The secret list is used by police nationally. It includes information and data gathered through criminal investigations, surveillance, and other observations. It focuses on individuals who the police have reasons to suspect are guilty of, or can become guilty of, committing punishable crimes.