Aleksanteri Kivimäki, accused of the Vastaamo psychotherapy centre data breach, outside the Helsinki Court of Appeal on 11 September 2025. Photo: Roni Rekomaa / Lehtikuva
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Aleksanteri Kivimäki, convicted of thousands of cybercrimes linked to the Vastaamo data breach, has been released from custody by the Helsinki Court of Appeal.
The decision followed two days of testimony from Kivimäki, who denied all charges. The court cited his prolonged pretrial detention as the reason for release. He has been in custody since February 2023. His trial will continue through November.
The court stated that further detention was not justified after the completion of Kivimäki’s hearing.
Kivimäki left the courthouse through a back exit and was picked up by his lawyer Peter Jaari. Speaking briefly to journalists outside, he said he intended to attend all remaining court sessions.
“There’s no question about that,” he said.
Asked what he planned next, he replied, “I’ll go eat. And change clothes.”
Kivimäki refused to comment on the thousands of victims affected by the breach. “They should ask questions to the prosecutors and the police,” he said.
The Court of Appeal’s decision does not overturn the earlier ruling by the district court. In April 2024, the Länsi-Uusimaa District Court sentenced Kivimäki to six years and three months in prison for aggravated data breach, 20 counts of aggravated extortion, over 20,000 attempted extortions, and over 9,000 aggravated violations of personal privacy.
The crimes relate to the 2018 hacking of psychotherapy provider Vastaamo’s database. The stolen database contained personal and medical records of 33,000 patients. In 2020, victims and the company were blackmailed. When the demands were not met, data was published online.
The case gained widespread attention due to the sensitive nature of the data. Many victims were children or received therapy for severe trauma. At least some individuals reportedly died by suicide after the data leaks.
Kivimäki maintains his innocence. In court, he claimed investigators had “tunnel vision” and that the prosecution was based on circumstantial links.
He denied using virtual servers involved in the breach. He also challenged the relevance of financial transactions tied to cryptocurrency wallets used in the extortion.
The prosecutor’s office is seeking a seven-year prison sentence, the maximum allowed under Finnish law. Pasi Vainio, the state prosecutor, said that if every offence were judged separately, the sentence would be measured in decades.
Prosecutors argue that even without direct evidence, the overall pattern of evidence supports the original conviction. They referred to forensic connections between server logs, bitcoin transactions, and materials linking the server contents to Kivimäki, including personal photographs and email usage.
Kivimäki, 28, said in court that he earned money through early investments in cryptocurrency. He admitted not paying taxes and said he used overseas services to handle transactions.
“I’m waiting for the day when the tax office comes asking,” he told the court.
He also admitted using accounts belonging to other individuals to pay legal fees and expenses, though he denied owning properties or vehicles tied to those names.
In February 2024, Kivimäki was released from custody during earlier court proceedings, but disappeared shortly after. He was later tracked to a Helsinki Airbnb apartment using clues from an online photo. Prosecutors now question whether a travel ban would be effective in ensuring his continued presence in court.
His release has sparked concern among victims and legal representatives. Lawyer Jenni Raiskio, who represents around 6,000 victims, told Iltalehti that many still suffer from the breach and feel the justice process is unending.
“We’ve had clients call asking if this will ever end,” she said.
The case has become one of the largest cybercrime trials in Finnish history. Over 24,000 victims filed police reports. The legal process has involved cross-border investigations and forensic data analysis.
Despite the temporary release, Kivimäki’s appeal trial remains ongoing. He is legally presumed innocent unless the Court of Appeal upholds the earlier verdict.
The court will issue a final ruling later this year.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
