Three former Top Finance executives sentenced to prison for fraudulent share scheme

In a landmark ruling, the Varsinais-Suomi district court handed down prison sentences to three men linked to Top Finance for orchestrating a deceptive investment scheme. The court determined that the company's leadership hid its mounting difficulties from hundreds of investors while advertising preferred shares as low-risk, promising high dividends and the ability to redeem the capital on demand. More than 400 investors purchased these shares in 2019 and 2020, contributing over six million euros, but the firm later failed to honor the promised returns.

Judges characterized the conduct as intentional fraud, noting that the shares functioned as high-interest loans used to fund the company's struggling payday-loan operations. The former CEO Mikael Juhani Kylätie received a sentence of four years and five months, board chair Ville Petteri Sistonen was sentenced to three years and eight months, and founder Roma Tammelin received three years and three months. Victims' compensation will be addressed in separate proceedings.