"Fined for Family: Finnish Guards Break Recusal Rules to Help Kin"

HELSINKI — Two senior border guards in southeastern Finland have been convicted and fined for illegally granting their family members permits to enter restricted border zones near the Russian frontier, with one using the access to visit a summer cabin on an island and the other to allow berry picking and fishing.

The Kymenlaakso District Court found both men, who worked for the Southeast Finnish Border Guard, guilty of service offences. The offences took place in July 2021 and May 2025 while both were serving as senior border guards.

In the first case, a border guard granted his spouse a five-year permit to enter a restricted part of the border municipality of Miehikkälä for berry picking and fishing. In the second, another guard issued permits for himself, his spouse, and his adult daughter to access the Virolahti maritime area, which falls under the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard's jurisdiction. The daughter's permit also covered restricted land border areas in Virolahti, Finland's southeasternmost municipality. The second guard told the court he had processed the applications himself because his daughter had failed to do so, and simultaneously approved maritime permits so the family could visit a cottage on an island within the otherwise closed border zone.

Both men told the court they believed the permits would have been considered justified if someone else had processed the applications. However, the District Court ruled that both clearly violated Interior Ministry regulations and should have known they were required to recuse themselves from such decisions.

Prosecutors had sought convictions for both misconduct and abuse of office. The court dismissed the abuse of office charges, noting that the permits would likely have been granted by another official and that neither man received any personal benefit from his actions.

The guard who issued permits to his wife and daughter was fined €975, while the other received a fine of €645. The judgments remain subject to appeal.

The case comes as Finland's eastern border with Russia remains fully closed, with all crossing points shut since 2023 and authorities recently announcing they will stay closed "until further notice".