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Patria case in Slovenia. Leaders in jail

(B2) The former leader of Patria, the Finnish arms firm, Jorma Witakorpi should remain in prison, charged with industrial espionage and aggravated corruption. So decided Thursday the court of Helsinki.

He was arrested last Monday by the National Bureau of Investigation (BNE). Same punishment for Veijo Varis, member of Patria's management team (responsible for the Land & Armament department). A joint police team of Finnish and Slovenian police worked together.

A Finnish-Slovenian affair

It was from the sale of armored vehicles manufactured by Patria to the Slovenian armed forces that the business was born. The accused leader has always denied the facts. And no trace of an illegal action has so far been found, says the daily Helsingin Sanomat.

The former government implicated

Former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa was also implicated as one of the possible recipients of the money by a Finnish television investigation (read: Patria affair: the rag burns between Ljubljana and Helsinki). But he always denied this fact. The BNE is still investigating another case of corruption for the sale of artillery in Egypt.

The delivery continues

Patria has indicated that it wants to continue to deliver the armored vehicles. The first of 130 vehicles was delivered to Slovenia on Friday. And several more should follow by the end of the year. For the moment, as long as there is no conviction, the contract (of 278 million euros) remains valid. However, an "anti-corruption" clause has been inserted into the contract and would allow Slovenia to cancel it in the event of a proven judgment. A possible possibility because part of the equipment is manufactured in Slovenia...

(NGV)

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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