The two former city workers are suspected of having received a total of over 600,000 euros in criminal proceeds.File aerial photo of downtown Helsinki. Image: Silja Viitala / YleYle News16:18Helsinki police suspect two city employees and a subcontractor of agreeing to overcharge for renovation work on the city's rental flats."Two property managers, who decide about rental flat renovations, are suspected of overcharging the city by hundreds of thousands of euros, along with a contract builder," Detective Inspector Lauri Huittinen explained.According to Huittinen, the property managers accessed the funds from those overcharges through corporate arrangements.Police suspect there were hundreds of overcharged renovation projects. The offences are thought to have taken place during 2023–2025.The two property managers are suspected of having received a total of over 600,000 euros in criminal proceeds. Police uncovered the crime in cooperation with the Finnish Tax Administration.Authorities have been investigating the case since last autumn and it will likely be transferred for prosecution consideration during the latter part of the year, according to police.Aggravated fraud, three suspectsThe suspected crime has been investigated as aggravated fraud, with a total of three suspects. Convictions for such crimes could result in several years' imprisonment, according to Huittinen.He said that some of the criminal proceeds have been recovered, including through bailiff enforcement.The City of Helsinki received information about the investigation at the end of last year and has cooperated with the police, according to Mikko Ravantti, head of administration for the city's urban environment division.Ravantti said neither of the employees in question no longer work for the city, adding that the city has terminated the agreement with the contractor.According to Ravantti, the city needs to re-examine its practices."Processes must be reviewed and consideration given to whether things can be done differently so that something similar doesn't happen again," he said.The city's rental flats are primarily managed by a firm called Heka. According to Heka's Managing Director Maria Aspala, the suspects were not Heka employees, and did not concern the flats the company manages.Instead, the renovations under investigation were carried out on flats managed by the city's housing services unit. That unit is in charge of rental operations of non-subsidised flats owned by the city, as well as supported housing for special groups.