Finnish court convicts NAVI's Aleksib of aggravated tax fraud

A district court in Finland has convicted Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen, the in-game leader of Natus Vincere, of aggravated tax fraud, Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat and HLTV report. The Eastern Uusimaa District Court gave the 29-year-old a four-month suspended prison sentence on 27 Oct, with a probation period that ends on 26 Oct 2028.

The ruling says he didn't declare €53,227.90 of income in 2019, so his income tax was €28,196.40 too low, Ilta-Sanomat reports. The money came from Counter-Strike Major sticker sales, which HLTV says were from IEM Katowice and StarLadder Berlin in 2019.

Aleksib denied the charge in court. He said he believed tax had already been paid on the sticker money, and he paid the missing tax after the Finnish Tax Administration sent him a bill. The court found the omission was intentional. The ruling isn't final and he can appeal until 26 Nov. HLTV says it asked him for comment and didn't get a reply.