Kymenlaakso District Court places assets of Hotel Leikari operators under lien in Kotka

Today, the Kymenlaakso District Court placed the assets of the men who operated Hotel Leikari under lien. This action is typically taken when there are suspicions that an individual who may be liable for fines or compensation is attempting to avoid payment by hiding or destroying their assets. The court will define the amount to be seized, and an enforcement officer will then take control of the designated assets.

“This involves a significant sum,” stated Commissioner Teppo Tähtinen. Artur Karaman and two of his Estonian-Russian business partners owned the operations of Hotel Leikari in Kotka from 2017 to 2022. Southeastern Finland police are currently investigating financial crimes related to Leikari.

Karaman is known for purchasing the bankrupt Hotel Punkaharju, previously run by Saimi Hoyer, in the spring of 2024. He has expressed intentions to sell Punkaharju this autumn.

The investigation is ongoing and revolves around an unpaid rental debt exceeding 100,000 euros that Hotel Leikari failed to pay to the property owners. According to Commissioner Tähtinen, the preliminary investigation also includes other financial crimes, but specific charges will be clarified as the investigation progresses. Since it is still underway, Tähtinen did not provide further details on who has been questioned or the amounts involved. However, he aims to complete the preliminary investigation by the end of this year.

Documents obtained by Yle’s MOT editorial team previously indicated that the monthly salary for cleaning staff had been set at 540–580 euros in the hotel’s employment contracts, roughly a thousand euros less than what the real estate service sector agreement requires. Leikari had also procured services from shell companies linked to money laundering; however, this does not imply that Karaman or his partners committed money laundering or other illegal acts. Yle has not yet managed to reach Karaman for comments regarding the seizure, but he did tell the MOT team previously that, “It was our first company in Finland, and we had no prior experience here.” “Unfortunately, we made mistakes, but we have learned from them,” he added at the time.