Parliament decides to sack AG for fund misuse

The parliament on Wednesday unanimously decided to terminate the Auditor General (AG) of the National Audit Office of Finland (VTV), Tytti Yli-Viikari on charge of misuse of fund.

The motion forward by Parliament's Chancellery Commission on Tuesday sought dismissal of Yli-Viikari was passed in the plenary session on Wednesday where no counter-argument was submitted, said the parliament in a press release.

Earlier, on April 8, the Parliamentary Chancellery Committee decided to suspend the AG until completion of the ongoing preliminary investigation into alleged misuse of fund by her.

The Committee took the decision unanimously at a meeting as the AG failed to provide satisfactory answers to the queries of the committee.

Speaker of parliament Anu Vehviläinen that time said that Yli-Viikari failed to give satisfactory answers at the meetings of two committees in March and also her answers failed to satisfy the Chancellery Committee in April.

The AG is the head of the National Audit Office of Finland (VTV), which monitors the use of government money.

According to a report, Yli-Viikari spent about 4,729 euro of public money on hairdressing and beauty services during 2018 to 2020.

The report also said that the AG also used the official credit card for her personal expenditures.

Yli-Viikari's lavish lifestyle and large travel expenses attracted media attention late last year, which has led to allegations of misuse of government funds for personal reasons.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) initiated the preliminary investigation into the alleged misuse of state fund by the AG.

Several investigations including those by a parliamentary audit committee and the police took place in this regard.

The ultimate decision the case was taken by the plenary session of Parliament, which had appointed Yli-Viikari to her current post.