Finnish Court Sentences Retired Abp. Leo in Grant Fraud Case

Photo: yle.fi

NORTH KARELIA, FINLAND — A regional court has sentenced retired Abp. Leo of the Finnish Orthodox Church (Patriarchate of Constantinople) to one year and one month of suspended imprisonment for grant fraud and aggravated accounting violations. The conviction relates to financial irregularities at the Karelian Language Society, where he served for years as board chairman.

Prosecutors had sought a harsher sentence, including community service. The court instead ordered Abp. Leo and the society’s former secretary—who received an identical suspended sentence—to jointly repay more than $187,380 to Finland’s Ministry of Education. He was additionally directed to pay over $10,540 in personal compensation, with legal costs exceeding $35,135 assigned to the defendants.

Founded in 1995 to promote Karelian language and culture, the society declared bankruptcy in 2020 after state grants were suspended and an audit sought recovery of subsidies paid between 2017 and 2019. The Finnish Orthodox Church stated it will notify the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The verdict is not yet final and may be appealed.

Previously, the UOJ reported that an Armenian archbishop was arrested for an alleged coup plot.

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