District Court of Kanta-Häme, Finland, dismissed charges today in a bribery case against former CEOs of Finnish Patria Oyj and its affiliate Patria Vehicles Oy as well as three other employees of the Patria Group. The charges were linked to the sale of Patria AMV -type armoured vehicles to the Republic of Slovenia in 2006.
The defendants were suspected of promising or giving of bribes in the shape of commission payments through intermediaries in Austria and Slovenia in exchange for actions of Slovenian public officials and military officers. These, among others the prime minister and the deputy chief of General Staff of Slovenia, were claimed to have leverage in the procurement procedure of the vehicles.
The Austrian intermediary as well as the former prime minister of Slovenia, the deputy chief of General Staff and a high-ranking military officer in Slovenian Ministry of Defence were sentenced last year by courts of law in Austria and Slovenia.
Finnish prosecutors, state prosecutor Jukka Rappe and district prosecutor Timo Kokkomäki, have one week to consider whether the case should be appealed.
The Office of Prosecutor General will inform the media about the decision of the prosecutors in due time.
