The prosecutor requested a four-month suspended sentence for Aleksib in the tax fraud case
The prosecutor demanded that Natus Vincere captain Aleksib “Aleksib” Virolainen be sentenced to four months of probation for tax fraud with aggravating circumstances. Details of the trial were published by the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.
The charges were read on Friday, October 16, at the Itä-Uusimaa District Court. According to the prosecutor, Virolainen failed to file his pre-filled 2019 tax return and did not report payments received from Valve on it. The amount of undeclared income exceeded €53,000, resulting in an underpayment of income tax by more than €28,000. The prosecution believes that the player sought to obtain significant financial gain and therefore classifies the act as having been committed under aggravating circumstances.
Virolainen admits that he did not report this money but denies any intent or desire to profit. According to the defense, the income in question came from the sale of stickers in Counter-Strike. At the time, the player did not realize that such income was taxable: tax had been withheld in advance from his regular salary, so he believed he had fulfilled all his tax obligations. The court will issue its verdict at a later date.
The Finnish Criminal Code provides for a prison term of four months to four years for tax fraud with aggravating circumstances. In 2019, the year to which the undeclared income relates, Aleksib played for ENCE and, together with the team, reached the finals of the IEM Katowice Major 2019.
The publication Iltalehti reported in March 2026 that Virolainen had been charged. At that time, the case was scheduled to be heard in April, and the player himself declined to comment on the proceedings, noting only that the charges were related to income from participating in esports competitions. Aleksib has been playing for Natus Vincere since 2023 and won the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 with the team.
Photo: StarLadder.
