Former executives of Mammuttihirsi convicted of serious financial crimes

A Finnish district court has convicted two former key executives of a now-bankrupt log home manufacturer for serious financial offences, including aggravated accounting fraud and aggravated deceit by a debtor, public broadcaster Yle reports.

The Oulu District Court ruled that the company’s former CEO, who also served as board chair, and a board member had falsified financial records and misled stakeholders about the firm’s economic health. The former CEO received an additional conviction for aggravated fraud.

Pohjois-Suomen Hirsitalokeskus Oy, which operated under the registered secondary name Mammuttihirsi, produced and constructed log homes in Ylikiiminki, Oulu, before filing for bankruptcy in November 2019. The current Mammutti log home factory in the area is unrelated to the case.

According to the court, the defendants recorded false or misleading information totalling €2.6 million in the company’s financial statements. They also sold a personal leisure property to the company at a significantly inflated price. Additionally, the former CEO was found to have presented a misleadingly positive picture of the company’s financial situation and profitability to a real estate firm that acquired the log home factory in early 2019, leading to the fraud conviction.

The court sentenced former CEO Vesa Nylander to two years and one month in prison. The board member received a suspended sentence of one year and eight months. The ruling is not yet legally binding.

Tags: financial crime, oulu, construction industry