Finland Times

File picture of Helsinki drug unit police chief Jari Aarnio. Photo – Lehtikuva.

The investigation into suspicions surrounding the suspended Helsinki Drug unit police chief Jari Aarnio came to a close on Thursday.

 

At a press conference, the investigators revealed that Aarnio is suspected of committing 26 offences which include abuse of official position, fraud, accepting bribes and drug offenses.

 

The ring of suspects in Aarnio's case also involves 23 others.

 

The bribery allegation is related to the alleged participation of Aarnio in the arranging financing for Trevoc, a surveillance company together with the boss of the United Brotherhood gang. The investigators believe that Aanio recieved tens of thousands of euros in bribes from the company.

 

Aarnio is also believed to have kept secret the true parties that own the surveillance company.

 

Different authorities had applied for the confiscation of the company assets totalling over a million euros. According to the investigators the company's property would have not been attached if the true owners had been known.

 

In addition Aarnio is suspected to have attempted to mess up the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) pre-trial investigation for instance using unjustified coercive means.

 

Aarnio is also suspected to have been involved in trafficking and distribution of several hundred of kilos of hashish from the Netherlands.

 

According to the investigators, Aarnio's assets, which are unaccounted for, amounts to several hundreds of thousands of euros. Some of the money is suspected of having been used for the construction of a house in Porvoo.

 

Aarnio still maintains that he is innocent of the criminal allegations that he is facing, said his lawyer Riitta Leppiniemi on Thursday.

 

Aarnio was arrested on November 12, 2013 on charges of various crimes including taking bribes from a private company.

 

He is also suspected for receiving kickbacks from Trevoc Company and being involved in the procurement of supplies from the same company for his employer.

 

Earlier, the authority investigating the graft allegations also traced a huge amount of undeclared money spent by Aarnio. He was accused of spending more than EUR 200,000 from unknown sources.

 

The money spent for his housing project – under construction in Porvoo – was much higher than the amount showed by the police officer from his salary and bank loans.

 

Sources said the plot was bought against Aarnio's son, although he did not have taxable income and his wife had zero income. The plot was used to build a house, garage and sauna.