The head of data security at the Helsinki office of financial services firm GE Money has been arrested for allegedly stealing EUR20,000 from an online bank account, according to local press reports.
According to a report by Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the 26 year-old head of data security is one of four men arrested in connection with the theft, which took place in June.
The report says that the security chief allegedly copied banking software and passwords onto a company laptop. He then took the laptop to an apartment in the Kallio district in Helsinki where he, along with two accomplices, accessed an online account at a local bank. They then transferred EUR20,000 into a separate corporate account.
Police told reporters that the group used somebody else's unprotected Wi-Fi network to connect to the local bank - which has not been named - in a bid to cover their tracks, but they were able to trace the transactions to the laptop owned by GE Money. According to the report, one of the gang was arrested when attempting to withdraw EUR5000 from the corporate account. Police say the stolen funds have now been recovered.
Pekka Pattiniemi, general manager for GE Money in Finland, told reporters that the security officer was immediately dismissed.
The case will be sent to prosecutors next week and charges will follow in about two months.