Rovaniemi City Council accepts Court of Appeal ruling on investment case involving Heli Välikangas and Jussi Päkkilä

The City Council of Rovaniemi unanimously decided on Monday to accept the ruling from the Rovaniemi Court of Appeal regarding a significant investment case. In its June decision, the court increased the damages owed by Heli Välikangas and Jussi Päkkilä to a total of €210,000. Previously, the Lapland District Court had ordered them to jointly pay approximately €114,000 to the city.

The dispute originated from Rovaniemi’s decision in 2017 to invest €2 million in a company named Front Finance, which subsequently went into a restructuring program, leading to a loss of the city’s invested funds and their returns. The decision to invest was made by the city council, with preparations done by Välikangas, acting as the city’s corporate officer, and Päkkilä, serving as the city treasurer. Välikangas also personally invested in the company and was found to have gained from the city’s involvement.

Despite not all of the city’s demands being met, it will not seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. Välikangas faced accusations of gross abuse of office, while Päkkilä was charged with breach of official duties. The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal of these charges, stating that although Välikangas’s actions met the criteria for misuse of position, they did not constitute gross misconduct, as the statute of limitations had expired for the basic criminal offense. Additionally, while the court found that Päkkilä had neglected his oversight responsibilities regarding the investment proposal, he was not convicted.

The city emphasized that the court’s reasoning clearly signals a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct in public office and the exercise of public power.