Forced Labor is not just a Global South Challenge
Finland reveals how forced labor lurks where we least expect it
The community of folks working on the modern slavery problem often talk about China. When it’s not China, there’s often talk of abuses in the Global South. All of these conversations are relevant and important. But once in a while, we also have to look at the places where no one expects slavery to exist, much less thrive.
So let’s look at Finland.
But first, some context. Northern Europe’s forest sector has for many years been considered a top source destination for fibre that in turn produces low-margin pulp and paper. But in 2024 local and limited international reporting began uncovering localized abuses that, over time, appear to have been part of a broader system of natural resource mismanagement.
According to an article written by Kelsey Pearlman of Fern, a 35-year old advocacy organization focused on protecting the world’s forests, forced labor is a symptom of a deeper root cause.
“When forests are managed primarily as fibre factories for low-margin pulp and paper production, the pressure cascades down. Companies squeeze suppliers on price. Suppliers squeeze contractors. Contractors defy labour standards and environmental protection.”
And they might be right. According to a major Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, a significant labor trafficking scandal in the forestry industry saw some 200 workers, at least 50 of them Nepalese men, lured to the country’s forestry sector with the typical pattern of promises for dignified work, false documents that looked too good to be true, and promises for future wealth.
The Exploitation:
- Workers paid up to €3,500 in recruitment fees
- Arrived in debt, only option out was to work
- 18-hour workdays under exploitative conditions
- Passport confiscation
- Threats of dismissal if they complained
- False promises about employment conditions and wages
- Many workers left Finland immediately for other EU countries, suggesting the scheme also served as a secondary migration gateway
The Illicit Network:
- Five suspects currently in custody, including:
- A Ukrainian national
- Nepalese recruiters
- Two forestry companies registered in Sotkamo under investigation
- Charges: aggravated human trafficking, aggravated extortion, organizing illegal immigration
This is not an isolated case of forced labor in Finland. The Regional State Administrative Agency for Eastern Finland has noted several other labor abuses in the country’s agriculture industry, specifically the industrial berry picking industry, where some 2,000 Thai nationals allegedly were forced to work in 2024 and 2025.
In March 2025, the CEO of Kiantama Oy, a Finnish company that picks and processes wild berries, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for human trafficking. The company was fined 100,000 euros, and 230,000 euros were forfeited by the Finnish government, labeled as illicit proceeds of crime.
Another company in the berry industry, Polarica, defends 77 counts of trafficking-related crimes. This case is ongoing as of this writing. A third company, Artic International is also under investigation for human trafficking.
Award-winning Finnish journalist, Paavo Teittinen, provides ongoing coverage of the Thai berry picker controversy among other forced labor scandals he’s investigated in Finland, many of which are summarized in his book, “The Long Shift – How Modern Slavery Took Root in Finland.”
In 2025, modern slavery is not just a Global South problem. It’s a global problem.
At Evidencity, we rely upon and learn greatly from the work of researchers, advocates like Kelsey and investigative journalists like Paavo to help us find the best sources of unstructured data that feed our work on illicit networks across the globe, not just in China and the Global South.
