Food market commissioner Olli Wikberg has been dismissed from office pending a criminal investigation into him, says the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
I– and the Ministry of Forestry has decided to arrest the Food Market Commissioner Olli Wikbergin from the post for the duration of the criminal investigation concerning him, the ministry informs. The suspension will take effect on Wednesday.
The Food Agency announced in mid-December that he submitted an investigation request to the Helsinki police due to suspicions of misconduct regarding Wikberg's activities. The abuse concerns the use of state funds in the performance of work duties, for example for travel and procurement.
According to Iltalehti Wikberg has made short domestic journeys by plane and has often resorted to taxis.
The Helsinki police have started a preliminary investigation into the matter.
A state official can be suspended from office for the duration of a criminal charge and the investigations required by it, if these may have an impact on the official's conditions for performing his duties.
The Food Market Commissioner operates with its offices in connection with the Food Agency as its own organization. The authorized person belongs to the administrative branch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Wikberg started his five-year post in autumn 2019.
The head of the investigation of the case Lauri Huittinen previously told HS that, according to the police's understanding, the suspected abuses took place roughly between 2020 and 2023.
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