Convicted ministry official says Finland ‘corrupt country’ – experts warn of old-boy networks

Olli Sorainen was convicted last week of bribery and abuse of public office, but says a closer examination of the Finnish civil service would reveal “quite a few similar cases”.

Olli Sorainen with short messy hair in a plaid button down shirt. — Olli Sorainen, an official at the Ministry of Labour, was convicted of bribery and abuse of public office. Image: Aalto Puutio / Yle

Finland is a corrupt country, right Olli Sorainena senior official at the ministry of labor who was convicted last week of qualified bribery and abuse of public office.

In an interview with Yle, Sorainen said he found it surprising that Finland has an international reputation for being a corruption-free country – especially since there are many examples of questionable actions by officials, as well as an “old” prominent (hi veli in Finnish).

Elder network refers to an informal system within Finnish society where an elite of wealthy men supposedly help each other in business and personal matters.

Last week, the Helsinki District Court sentenced Sorainen to a suspended prison sentence after finding him guilty of soliciting and receiving money from the former managing director of a berry company to purchase two violins. At the time of his request, Sorainen was a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Labor with responsibility for legislation governing the berry picking industry.

Despite his conviction, Sorainen stressed to Yle that he does not consider himself to be corrupt and said he plans to appeal the court’s verdict.

He added that a closer examination of the Finnish civil service would reveal “quite a few similar cases”.

When Yle asked Sorainen to elaborate on what he meant, he declined to comment further.

Expert: Suspicions are widespread, but few court cases

Finland regularly ranks high in international comparisons of the world’s least corrupt countries.

Last year, the non-profit NGO Transparency International ranked Finland in second place in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), meaning that perceptions of corruption in the country are very low.

However, Ari Salminenemeritus professor of public management at the University of Vaasa, noted that phenomena such as structural corruption and the network of “boys” are not measured by official statistics.

Salminen added that at least 30 cases of corruption – including fraud, embezzlement and bribery – come to light in Finland every year.

Suspicions of corruption are widespread in Finnish society, he said, but these suspicions rarely end up in court.

“We have situations where interactions between a public sector agency or public official and a business interest could be considered suspicious, although there has been no conviction and there is no clear evidence. For example, favoritism towards a certain company is the kind of thing that comes up in these situations,” said Salminen.

The photo shows Ari Salminen, professor of public administration. — Ari Salminen has studied corruption and has also published a non-fiction book on the subject Image: Sampo Saikkonen / Yle

However, Tomi Voutilainenprofessor of Public Law at the University of Eastern Finland, told Yle in response to Sorainen’s claim that there should be evidence to support such claims.

Although there are a handful of cases in Finnish courts each year involving the alleged bribery of an official, Voutilainen noted that there has not been a particular increase in the number of convictions over the past decade.

“At least the number of reported crimes was very low,” Voutilainen said.

Despite this, he added that he occasionally observed some dubious relationships between the private sector and civil servants.

“I myself have observed activities where it would be worth evaluating whether or not it is appropriate behavior for an official. For example, in the activities and cooperation between companies and state and municipal officials, which also takes place informally, the question arises of how trust is ensured in official activities,” said Voutilainen.

The photo shows Tomi Voutilainen, professor of public law at the University of Eastern Finland. — Tomi Voutilainen is a professor of public law at the University of Eastern Finland. Image: Pekka Koli / Yle

Finland introduced a EU-mandated ‘announcement’ channel in early 2023, which aimed to help eradicate corruption by lowering the threshold for reporting suspicious activity.

In Voutilainen’s view, the media also play an important role.

“Many problems related to the use of public funds have come to light through the media, not because the administration itself has woken up to them. This, of course, indicates that internal control in the administration is not working,” he said.

Meanwhile, Salminen noted that the warning system can make a difference in eliminating misconduct, but the starting point in Finland is always that an official can be trusted.