NBI probes into damage of submarine cable as aggravated criminal case

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is investigating into the damage of submarine cable between Finland and Germany in the Baltic Sea as aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with communications.

The offences, however, may change as the criminal investigation progresses, said the NBI on Wednesday.

The crime scene investigation of the C-Lion-1 sea cable damage site has been completed and the investigators have collected samples of the cable for further analysis by the Forensic Laboratory of the NBI and conducted seabed imaging.

The Gulf of Finland Coast Guard District provided assistance in the crime scene investigation of the sea cable damage site.

The C-Lion-1 cable, owned by Cinia Oy and connecting Finland and Germany damaged in the Swedish EEZ in the early hours of November 18.

Earlier on November 17, the BCS East-West Interlink cable, owned by the Swedish company Arelion and linking Sweden and Lithuania, had also been damaged.

To investigate the damage to the sea cables, the law enforcement authorities of Finland, Sweden and Lithuania have established a joint investigation team with the help of Eurojust, the European Union's agency for criminal justice cooperation, because the authorities have deemed it appropriate to investigate both cases together.

The JIT facilitates and accelerates cross-border cooperation between these countries and enables the exchange of information without formal requests for assistance.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on November 19 opened an investigation into the damage of submarine cable.

The submarine cable between Finland and Germany went out of service on November 18 morning due to a fault.

The repair of a damaged submarine telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany in the Baltic Sea started on November 25.