Supreme Administrative Court imposed a record-high fine in a public procurement appeal procedure

We successfully represented TampereMissio Palvelut Oy in Finland's largest unlawful direct award case. The case was against the Pirkanmaa Wellbeing Services County (Pirha), the largest wellbeing services county of Finland. On 18 June, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland imposed a fine of EUR 200,000 on Pirha. It is so far the highest fine ever imposed in a public procurement matter in Finland. Although a fine of the same amount was imposed once before (on the initiative of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority, the FCCA), this is the first time such a record amount was imposed as a result of private enforcement.

Our involvement in the case began already with filing a complaint to the FCCA in late 2024. Based on our complaint, the FCCA held that Pirha had made illegal direct awards worth almost EUR 55 million, the largest annual value in the FCCA's investigation history.

The case was truly unique and marks notable firsts, as, for example, it was reportedly the first time a complaint was made to the FCCA before any direct awards had been made. In addition, TampereMissio Palvelut Oy's appeal to the Market Court in June 2025 represented the first time an appeal regarding a direct award decision was made to the Market Court following the FCCA's investigation.