Court sentences 3 brothers to prison for attempting to extort 37 million euros from Abloy

Among the three brothers was a former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officer.

Three brothers were found guilty of attempted extortion Photo: Lucas Holm / Yle

On Friday, the District Court of North Karelia sentenced three brothers – including a former police officer – to almost three years in prison for attempted aggravated extortion.

The men were found guilty of attempting to blackmail the lock manufacturer Abloy and the German company Assa Abloy Sicherheitstechnik, demanding payment of approximately EUR 37 million from them. They claimed that they managed to open some locks by bypassing the devices’ electronic security measures, leaving no traces of security breaches.

Posing as consultants, brothers – Anssi, Henry AND Pauli Pukari — tried to sell information about the lock loopholes they had discovered, showing the trial on video as evidence. All of the defendants have experience in the lock industry, according to the court.

According to court documents, the men first contacted the companies in November 2021, sending an email to their CEO under the pseudonym Magnus Nilsson.

The email exchange continued into spring 2022, and the discussion focused on the salaries security consultants typically receive in the industry. After mentioning the amount of €37 million, Abloy stopped responding to the defendants’ messages.

The court found that the men told Abloy that if payment was not made, information about the gaps would be published on the internet.

However, the company did not respond to the threat and refused to pay. Instead, Abloy contacted the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), prompting the law enforcement agency to launch a preliminary investigation that revealed the brothers’ identities.

Judgments and compensations

The court sentenced each of the defendants to unconditional sentences of two years and eleven months in prison. The maximum sentence for attempted aggravated extortion is three years. The men were also ordered to pay compensation and costs of the investigation and court, amounting to about 230,000 euros.

The court said the men were sentenced to near maximum prison terms due to the large sum of money involved and the systematic planning of the crime.

According to the court, the brothers carefully organized the extortion attempt, and the tasks related to committing the crime were clearly divided.

The initial investigation showed that the youngest accused, Pauli Pukari, had previously worked at the police departments in Tampere and Oulu and at the NBI, where he served as a senior police officer.

Due to his experience in law enforcement, Pauli was responsible for communications with Abloy as it attempted to extort millions from the company.

All three defendants denied the allegations, claiming that their contacts with the lock manufacturer were of a business nature.

However, the district court found that the men took steps to conceal their identities, knowing that they could be suspected of extortion. To conceal their identities, according to the court, the brothers bought a new laptop and used a prepaid internet subscription to communicate with the company as part of their scam.

Abloy has since announced that the lock models involved in the case have not been sold to the consumer market.

The court’s ruling can still be appealed.