A trial against six former managers of the Finnish Patria company is scheduled to commence next week for a contentious sale of armoured vehicles to the Slovenian army, after which they will be tried for a similar deal with Croatia, the chief prosecutor in the case, Jukka Rappe, said on Wednesday for Slovenia's STA news agency.
The same indictees are involved in both cases, Rappe explained. He expects that the ruling will be combined for both cases.
Rappe explained that it was a criminal offence even if someone promised to pay a bribe but in the end did not do so.
The six indictees are accused of offering a bribe to Slovenian public officials so that Patria would be awarded the job of supplying the Slovenian army with armoured vehicles. They have also been accused of industrial espionage.
The trial is scheduled to commence on Tuesday in Haemeenlinna, where Patria Vehicles has its headquarters, and is expected to be over by the end of October.
This will mostly likely be followed by another trial for a similar deal with Croatia.
Rappe added that the trial in the Croatian case could be briefer and that this trial too could be over by November or early December.
If the accused are found guilty, they could be sentenced to around two years' imprisonment as envisaged by Finnish law for bribery, Rappe said for STA.
