December 02, 2008

Outokumpu\'s probe finds no evidence of wrong doing in SS exports

Outokumpu announced that an investigator it hired to look into crimes alleged to have been committed by some of its staff in a case relating to stainless steel exports to Russia has not found any evidence of wrong doing.

Outokumpu said law firm Roschier has concluded that it has not found evidence that any of Tornio Works employees or the company would have committed any of the crimes. However, it noted that while given full access to company documents, Roschier was unable to access documents seized by Finnish customs authorities as part of the probe.

Outokumpu said the management of Outokumpu is confident that neither the company nor its employees are guilty of wrongdoing. It added that it would continue to cooperate fully with the authorities in the investigation predicted to last until the end of the year.

Finnish customs authorities launched a probe this spring amid suspicions that employees at Outokumpu's Tornio Works plant may have been complicit in the preparation of forged invoices by a Finnish forwarding agency.