Four men jailed for multimillion-euro investor fraud in Ostrobothnia

Four men have been sentenced to unconditional prison terms for defrauding investors of millions of euros in Ostrobothnia, Yle reports. The Ostrobothnia District Court found them guilty of aggravated fraud and an information offence concerning securities markets.

Two men, Juuso Pekka Kalevi Inha and Jarkko Tuomas Lahti, were sentenced to four years in prison. Roy Helge Juhani Harju and Matti Henrik Heiskala received two-year prison sentences.

The court found that the men used misleading information to persuade investors to buy shares in a Finnish limited company between 2018 and 2020. The shares were sold and marketed mainly through the Privanet Group, which was then a reputable marketplace for unlisted companies.

The men were ordered, together with companies under their control, to pay more than six million euros in compensation. The shares were sold to the injured parties for nearly seven million euros in total.

The court said the crime was exceptionally serious and damaging, and reflected significant culpability. It considered previous long prison sentences imposed on Harju and Heiskala in another case in 2025 as mitigating factors.

The court also sentenced a woman to 18 months of suspended imprisonment for aggravated money laundering committed between 2018 and 2021. Another man received a fine for an information offence concerning securities markets. The case was heard over 25 days. The ruling is not final.