Three brothers in Finland, including a former policeman, have been sentenced to nearly three years in prison by the District Court of North Karelia for attempting to commit particularly serious extortion. The court found Anissi, Henry, and Pauli Pukari guilty of trying to extort nearly 37 million euros from the manufacturers of Abloy and the German company Assa Abloy Sicherheitstechnik by claiming they had the ability to open locks without leaving any traces.
The brothers posed as consultants and offered to sell information about identified vulnerabilities to the companies, providing videos to support their claims. All three had prior experience working in the castle production field. The attempted extortion began in November 2021, with an initial contact made to ABLOY under the pseudonym Magnus Nilsson. The demands escalated to 37 million euros during the correspondence, leading the companies to alert the authorities when their demands were not met.
An investigation revealed that the brothers threatened to disclose the vulnerabilities publicly if they did not receive payment. Despite the threats, Abloy refused to pay, prompting the initiation of a formal investigation that eventually led to the identification and apprehension of the criminals.
Each of the brothers was sentenced to two years and eleven months in prison and ordered to pay compensation and legal fees totaling around 230 thousand euros. The severity of the punishment was influenced by the large sum demanded and the calculated nature of the crime. Pauli Pukari, the youngest brother, who had a background in law enforcement, used his experience to establish contact with Abloy for the extortion scheme.
The Pukari brothers denied the charges, claiming their actions were part of business negotiations. However, the court noted their efforts to conceal their identities through purchasing new equipment and using disposable internet subscriptions. ABLOY confirmed that the locks involved in the case were not sold to consumers. The court’s decision is subject to appeal.