Finland MP allegedly claimed €13,000 in expenses for a sauna as his second home

The building where Vahamaki allegedly rented premises in Helsinki
The building where Vahamaki allegedly rented premises in Helsinki Copyright Reuters
Copyright Reuters
By Euronews
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button

A Finnish MP is being investigated by the police for claiming a sauna as his second home.

ADVERTISEMENT

An MP in Finland allegedly cheated parliament out of €13,000 by claiming expenses for a sauna as his second home.

Ville Vahamaki, from the Finns Party, has denied any wrongdoing.

Finnish tabloid Iltalehti reported in July that Vahamaki and another MP had been claiming elevated housing allowances for a sauna in the basement of a Helsinki apartment building.

"In practice, I use it for laundry and so forth," Vahamaki told the newspaper at the time.

He is suspected of having defrauded parliament of around €13,000 in the form of unjustified allowances, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation said in a statement, adding he had already paid the money back.

The prosecutor will now consider the charges. Police found no grounds to suspect the other MP of a similar fraud.

Finland has a population of 5.5 million people and three million saunas.

Share this articleComments

You might also like

Far-right Greek MP arrested after fight in parliament

Portugal’s new government aims to outmanoeuvre radical populist rivals

Croatia’s parliament dissolves, paving way for election later this year