17 employees face trial for violation of company business secret

A total of 17 employees of a company are facing trial for violation of a business secret and misuse of a position of trust of a Finnish company in 2022, said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Wednesday.

The NBI completed the criminal investigation and decided to refer the case to the Prosecution District of Southern Finland for consideration of charges, said the NBI in a press release.

It is suspected that the employees used information obtained from their employer to start a competing business in the name of another company.

They also agreed with the acquiring company on arrangements by which they would become involved in the operation of the new company.

Those involved in the Finnish acquiring company are suspected of misuse of a business secret and abetting a violation of a business secret and misuse of a position of trust.

“The criminal investigation was exceptionally extensive. We had 17 suspects in the case and we examined more than 70 IT devices. We also interviewed several dozen witnesses during the investigation,” said Head of Investigation, Senior Detective Superintendent of the NBI Mikko Laaksonen in the press release.