Vastaamo blackmail victims to receive higher compensation

Finland’s Insurance Court has ruled that the State Treasury must double the minimum and maximum compensation for victims of the Vastaamo psychotherapy clinic blackmail scheme, public broadcaster Yle reports.

Under the new decisions, the minimum compensation rises to €1,000 and the maximum to €2,000. Previously, the State Treasury had set minimum payouts at €500 and maximum at €1,500.

Compensation is divided into three categories. The lowest tier covers clients whose personal data was leaked online but not therapy records. The highest tier applies to victims whose highly sensitive therapy details were published.

A €220 deductible is subtracted from all compensation sums. Victims can apply for compensation through the State Treasury and may appeal its decisions to the Insurance Court.

Lawyers representing roughly 6,000 victims say the rulings are significant, as they establish that all applicants should now receive at least €1,000. About 30 of the State Treasury’s earlier decisions have been appealed to the Insurance Court, which has yet to comment on the broader implications of its rulings.

State compensation is available only for aggravated blackmail or attempted aggravated blackmail. Finnish law does not permit state-funded compensation for data breaches or privacy violations alone, though victims may seek damages directly from the perpetrator.

In February, Helsinki Court of Appeal sentenced Aleksanteri Kivimäki to six years and 11 months in prison for the data breach and blackmail. His conviction is not yet final, as he has sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.