Finnish officers suspected of bribery in Iraq

Some officers of the Finnish crisis management troops in Iraq have been suspected of bribery and official misconduct, announced the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday.

NBI said the case related to an extension work of the Finnish crisis management troops' military base in Erbil, northern Iraq.

A transport officer was suspected of having received minor gifts from the contractor of the extension project and doing some actions related to the construction work that did not belong to his duty.

The police suspected the officer of committing a crime of service offence and a crime of bribery.

NBI also suspected that the officers involved in procurement as technician and commercial attorney committed a negligent breach of official duty. They were suspected of failing to comply with the procurement obligations.

The police have completed pre-trial investigation and transferred the case to the procuratorial authority, according to NBI.

Finland has participated in crisis management operations in Iraq together with about 60 other countries since 2014. In the mission against the militant group IS, the task of the Finnish troops was mainly training Kurdish troops and Iraqi security forces.