Two businessmen sentenced for environmental crimes in Hyvinkää and Kärkölä

The Eastern Uusimaa District Court has issued suspended prison sentences to two businessmen for dubious financial activities and environmental crimes. The environmental offenses involved the improper storage and neglect of hazardous waste and dangerous chemicals generated by a company based in Hyvinkää. Throughout the 2010s, chemicals were stored unlawfully on the company’s premises in Hyvinkää, with toxic containers ultimately being transported to an unauthorized facility in Kärkölä.

According to the charges, a total of 1,068 containers of chemicals or waste were abandoned at the Kärkölä warehouse. The cleanup of these materials was left to the Häme ELY Center, incurring costs exceeding €650,000. One of the convicted men served as the company’s CEO until the spring of 2019, when the company was sold and rebranded. The other offender was a board member from spring 2019 until early 2020, after which the company entered bankruptcy.

The CEO also faced charges of favoring creditors, as he was aware of the company’s insolvency yet made early payments to certain parties. Meanwhile, the former board member transferred company funds to his own and another company’s accounts and neglected the company’s accounting and financial reporting.

The court found the CEO guilty of favoring creditors, environmental degradation, and gross environmental damage, sentencing him to one year and four months in prison. The other convicted individual received a sentence of one year and five months for debtor dishonesty, serious accounting crimes, and severe environmental degradation. They were ordered to jointly compensate the ELY Center for the costs related to the removal and handling of the chemicals, totaling over €526,000 with interest. The rulings have not yet become final.