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Two men, ages 37 and 40, have been detained and remanded in
custody in Finland
on suspicion of espionage, local public broadcaster Yle reported on Sept. 16.
According to court documents, the alleged offenses may have been committed between Aug. 30 and Sept. 12.
Yle reported that the men were detained several days ago in Lapland. The European Arctic Summit was held in Rovaniemi on Sept. 13-14 and hosted by Finnish PM Petteri Orpo. European leaders were invited to attend. Yle said it was not known whether the espionage suspicions were connected to the event.
A new air force base is also being built in Lapland. It may have been the target of the alleged espionage, though it remains unclear which site in Finland the men may have been gathering information about.
The Helsinki District Court ordered both men held in custody in connection with the espionage investigation.
The suspects do not appear in Finland’s population register, but their details match those of two men listed in Sweden’s population register. They were born in 1986 and 1988 and are registered at the same address in Härnösand, Sweden.
According to the Pandora Papers, one of the men is the beneficial owner of a company in the British Virgin Islands. Neither man has a criminal record, address or known ties to Finnish companies. At least one of them has close ties to France.
Espionage is punishable by one to 10 years in prison in
Finland. Attempting to commit espionage is also a criminal offense.
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