Finland suspends government official suspected of accepting bribes and human trafficking

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Finland suspends government official suspected of accepting bribes and human trafficking
Finland suspends government official suspected of accepting bribes and human trafficking. Image: Karavanov_Lev/Shutterstock.com

The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has suspended a senior ministerial advisor who has been suspected of accepting bribes in connection with a major human trafficking case.

Olli Sorainen, the suspended government official, is suspected of aggravated abuse of public office and aggravated acceptance of bribes. He has also been linked to the trafficking of humans from Thailand between 2020 and 2022 who were recruited as berry pickers.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland, an official can be suspended from duty for the duration of a criminal investigation and associated inquiries that are believed to damage their capacity to fulfil their responsibilities.

Sorainen was suspended from duty during a criminal investigation into a large-scale human trafficking case. He was detained on suspicion of the offences at the end of October by the District Court of Helsinki. According to recent reports, he was released from a pre-trial investigation last week, but remains suspected of other charges including acceptance of a bribe and abuse of public office.


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