Finavia chair Riitta Tiuraniemi has resigned in protest at interference from the Transport Minister, Anne Berner. Tiuraniemi was annoyed at Berner’s move to delay a lawsuit Finavia wanted to bring against its former auditors, Deloitte and Touche.
The lawsuit focuses on interest rate derivatives in which Finavia invested in between 2009 and 2011. Those investments were much riskier than allowed by the organisation’s rules—and ended up losing the agency 34 million euros.
Finavia, the former Finnish Civil Aviation Authority, is a limited liability company wholly owned by the Finnish state. As such, the government is able to exercise ownership steering—which Berner exercised in the dispute with Deloitte.
Tiuraniemi told Helsingin Sanomat that the ministry had in September asked Finavia to delay a civil lawsuit against the accounting firm pending a decision from the ministry. The decision did not arrive in mid-November as promised—leaving the timescale tight, as any potential lawsuit had to be filed by the end of the year under the statute of limitations.
Settled out of court
Finavia’s board and Deloitte and Touche reached an agreement to settle out of court at the beginning of December. Tiuraniemi left her post as a result.
"I resigned on 4 December as I didn’t think the settlement should have been agreed at the terms offered," Tiuraniemi told HS.
Tiuraniemi told HS that the owner (i.e. the Transport Ministry) had the right to appoint and remove the board of directors, but it could not make decisions outside board meetings on behalf of the board.
Berner denied to HS that she had in any way deviated from principles of good corporate governance.
On 9 December Tiuraniemi was replaced by Harri Sailas, the former CEO of pension fund and insurance group Ilmarinen.
