A Finnish district court has convicted Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen, the 29-year-old in-game leader of NAVI, of aggravated tax fraud. He was sentenced to four months of suspended imprisonment with a two-year probation period, according to several Finnish outlets.
The ruling says Aleksib failed to declare €53,000 in earnings from Valve Corporation in 2019, linked to his participation in the IEM Katowice and StarLadder Berlin Majors. As a result, he paid roughly €28,000 less in income tax.
In his defense, he admitted the filing was incomplete but denied intentionally trying to avoid taxes, saying he had originally believed they were paid. He has reportedly paid the undeclared taxes since.
The court nonetheless found the omission intentional and ruled that he sought financial gain. According to is.fi, he can appeal the decision until November 26.
The suspended sentence does not require prison time, but the verdict will be entered into his criminal record, which could complicate visa applications and travel to international tournaments.