Finnish youth remanded in absentia for Vastaamo data hacking

The Helsinki District Court on Thursday remanded a Finnish man in absentia for his alleged involvement in the incident of Psychotherapy Centre Vastaamo data hacking.

A European arrest warrant has been issued against the suspect, said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in a press release on Friday.

The court remanded the person in absentia on probable cause of aggravated computer break-in, attempted aggravated extortion, and aggravated dissemination of information violating personal privacy.

The NBI requested the remand in connection with the incident.

The police provided information on the case for the first time in October 2020.

The police have established that the suspect currently resides abroad. For this reason, he was remanded in absentia.

He can be arrested abroad under the European arrest warrant.

After that the police will request his surrender to Finland. An Interpol notice will also be issued against the suspect, who is a Finnish citizen and about 25 years of age.

“We have made significant progress in the investigation and have come to this point through perseverance and diligence. The criminal investigation has been carried out in close cooperation with the local police, and with other national and international authorities. It is still too early to estimate when the case can be referred to the prosecutor for consideration of charges, says Head of Investigation,” said Detective Chief Inspector Marko Leponen of the NBI.

The criminal investigation is still ongoing. The police also investigate the suspect's involvement in extorting the victims of the incident and in disseminating the compromised information.

About 22,000 victims have reported the crime to the police. Because of the large number of victims, the police obtain statements from the victims electronically. Thus far, the police have only received about 6,400 statements.

“We urge all victims in the case to report the crime to the police, and those who have already done that should complete the electronic statement form. They should complete the form in order to remain parties to the criminal procedure and be able to present their claims in the matter,” Leponen said.

The police estimate that around 10,000 victims have not yet reported the crime.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has been investigating into the incidents since autumn 2020.

The board of the psychotherapy centre Vastaamo in October, 2020 terminated the centre’s Chief Executive Officer Ville Tapio following the large-scale data hacking,