Court of Appeal extends sentence for former director of Kuopio Swimming Club in Finland

The Court of Appeal in Eastern Finland has extended the sentence received by the former director of the Kuopio Swimming Club. The court sentenced him to a conditional prison term of one year and three months for both aggravated embezzlement and aggravated accounting fraud.

Previously, the District Court had handed down a one-year conditional sentence for aggravated embezzlement but had dismissed the charge of aggravated accounting fraud. The District Court argued that the swimming club could not transfer the accounting responsibilities to the director.

The prosecutor, who appealed the District Court’s decision, claimed that this interpretation of the law was incorrect since the director had effectively managed the association’s accounting. According to the prosecutor, he had neglected proper bookkeeping, recorded false information, and hindered achieving an accurate and sufficient understanding of the club’s financial situation.

The Court of Appeal justifies its decision by stating that the accused had admitted to committing aggravated accounting fraud, for which a penalty was sought. The former director embezzled more than €51,000 from the swimming club between July 2020 and June 2021.

The verdict is not yet final.