Prosecutor withdraws charges against two as Paljakka trial begins

A financial crime trial linked to the Paljakka ski resort in Puolanka began on Monday, with prosecutors withdrawing charges against two of the three people originally accused, Yle reported.

The only remaining defendant is the former chief executive of North Finlandia Travels, the company that ran the resort. The two people whose charges were withdrawn represented an accounting firm used by the company’s British owner.

The former CEO is charged with aggravated accounting offences and aggravated fraud. Prosecutors allege that the former executive failed to provide receipts for the company’s accounts, transferred its funds to personal or company accounts, and misled a British investor about the price of a hotel, gaining 60,000 euros. The former CEO denies all charges.

North Finlandia Travels took responsibility for the resort in 2019 and went bankrupt around the turn of 2022 and 2023. A pension insurance company and the tax authority petitioned for its bankruptcy. The company announced in late 2022 that the ski slopes would not open, and they have remained closed since.

Police began investigating the suspected financial crimes in early 2024 after a request from the bankruptcy estate administrator. The Kainuu District Court has scheduled six days for the case.