Janina Ketola

Janina Ketola

We are Finland’s leading criminal law team with a focus on corporate crime. We have many years of experience in successfully handling extensive criminal procedures and internal investigations, and we assist our clients in managing corporate crime risks.

Criminal procedures

Companies may face situations in which they or their employees become the subjects of a criminal procedure. We assist companies and their management and other personnel throughout the entire process from preliminary investigations to trials. Being suspected of an offence can also affect the company’s profitability and reputation, particularly if the process drags on. Handling the process in a professional manner helps minimise its negative impacts. We build a strong defence for your case and handle the entire procedure on your behalf efficiently and reliably.

The types of criminal procedures in business we handle include:

  • Financial offences, white-collar crimes
  • Trade secret offences
  • Security markets offences, insider trading
  • Corruption, bribery
  • Environmental offences
  • Work safety and employment offences
  • Data and communications offences, data breaches
  • Offences in public office
  • Offences relating to freedom of speech and protection of privacy
  • Tax offences
  • Money laundering offences

Internal investigations and assisting the injured party

When a suspicion of possible irregularity arises, the company’s management must take sufficient and prompt action to sort out the situation. Irregularity typically relates to corruption or misappropriation of company funds or trade secrets. We assist clients in every step of an internal investigation, and we can conduct the entire investigation on our client’s behalf.

During an internal investigation, we, among other things, systematically collect data of irregularities by screening documents and interviewing employees and management. It is crucial for a potential further process to secure and compile relevant evidence. Based on our findings, we will instruct you on what steps to take. Our investigation builds up an extensive database of facts and evidence that is ready for use if the suspected abuse moves on to a preliminary investigation.

It is important to investigate potential damages and draft a claim for damages as early as possible during the process. Issues relating to confiscation for security will also need to be dealt with at this stage. Damages issues are often complex and may require the involvement of independent expert witnesses.

After the initial stages, we assist the injured party in making a request for investigation and claiming damages as well as act as counsel for the client in the preliminary investigation and the subsequent trial. It is also common that the perpetrator will seek to hide assets that have been obtained through crime. In such a case, we help in tracing and recovering the assets at home and abroad.

Latest references

We assisted eQ Community Properties Fund in the sale of two healthcare properties to a fund managed by Northern Horizon. The properties have a total floor area of approximately 3,500 square meters. The two properties are located in Espoo and Lahti. The Espoo asset was completed in 2018 and the Lahti asset was completed in 2023. Both assets are operated by Attendo, the leading care provider in the Nordic region.
Case published 9.5.2025
We successfully represented BMW in an exceptionally long dispute over whether the spare rims sold by the defendant and the hub caps included in them infringed BMW’s trademark and design rights. The Market Court found that the sign used by the defendant caused a likelihood of confusion with BMW’s trademarks. The defendant had used the sign on the hub caps and in the marketing of the hub caps and rims, leading the Market Court to find that the defendant had infringed BMW’s trademark rights. The defendant admitted to infringing BMW’s Community design but denied the related injunction claim. However, the Market Court found that there was no particular reason to refrain from issuing an injunction. The Market Court prohibited the defendant from continuing to infringe BMW’s trademarks and Community design and ordered the defendant to alter or destroy the products and marketing materials that infringed BMW’s rights. Furthermore, the Market Court ordered the defendant to pay BMW EUR 70,000 in reasonable compensation and EUR 80,000 in damages for the trademark infringements, as well as EUR 7,000 in reasonable compensation and EUR 8,000 in damages for the design right infringement. The amounts can be considered exceptionally high in Finland. Additionally, the Market Court ordered the defendant to pay a significant portion of BMW’s legal costs with interest on late payment. In its decision of 11 March 2025, the Supreme Court of Finland did not grant the defendant leave to appeal, and also decided that there was no need to seek a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union. Thus, the Market Court’s judgements (MAO:494/18 ja 517/2023) are final. In addition to the main dispute, BMW demanded in a separate proceeding that one of the defendant’s trademark registrations be revoked. A total of three separate legal proceedings were conducted in the Market Court regarding the revocation. The defendant’s trademark registration was ultimately revoked.
Case published 9.5.2025
We are advising DNA Plc in brand protection and intellectual property enforcement matters globally. Our intellectual property team manages DNA’s global trademark portfolio, including registration, prosecution, opposition and enforcement. We also advise DNA in questions concerning consumer and marketing law, unfair competition, social media, domain names and cybersquatting. DNA Plc is one of Finland’s leading telecommunication companies. DNA offers connections, services and devices for homes and workplaces, contributing to the digitalisation of society. The company has approximately 3.7 million subscriptions in its fixed and mobile communications networks. In 2024, DNA’s total revenue was EUR 1,100 million, and the company employs about 1,600 people around Finland. DNA is part of Telenor Group.
Case published 7.5.2025
Castrén & Snellman’s Attorney Christer Svartström acted as the administrator in the restructuring proceedings of Foodiq Oy, which began on 11 March 2024. Foodiq is a unique future food focused company that develops and produces plant and milk-based products for both the private and public sectors. The company’s largest shareholder is a Swedish investment company focusing on FoodTec, Nicoya AB. The majority of creditors approved the draft restructuring programme in expedited proceedings after restructuring proceedings that lasted just under a year. The District Court of Helsinki affirmed the restructuring programme including the one-day payment programme on 10 March 2025 and appointed Attorney Christer Svartström as the supervisor of the programme. In cooperation with the parties, they found an effective and quick restructuring solution for the company, avoiding a long-term programme and allowing the company to focus on its core business. The restructuring programme was financed by investments made by the company’s investors. At the same time, the one-day programme provided a better outcome for creditors compared to a longer programme. The implementation of the restructuring programme ended successfully on 28 March 2025.
Case published 6.5.2025