Antti Pelttari, current Secretary-General of the Parliament of Finland and the former head of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo).
Antti Pelttari, Secretary-General of the Finnish Parliament, is under investigation for suspected treason and official misconduct, according to a report by Finnish public broadcaster Yle.
Authorities suspect Pelttari of disclosing state secrets — an offense punishable in Finland by between four months and four years in prison. Negligent handling of classified information carries a penalty of a fine or up to two years in prison.
The allegations relate to Pelttari’s previous role as director of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo). In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Pelttari stated that the investigation concerns claims that he failed to act on the fact that retired Supo employees continued to have access to confidential intelligence data. At a minimum, he is suspected of negligence.
Pelttari denies any wrongdoing, stating he does not consider himself guilty of a crime.
Supo had disclosed on May 7 that in autumn 2023 it handed a case to the Intelligence Oversight Commissioner after questions were raised about the legality of certain information-gathering methods. In early 2024, new findings were also referred to the oversight authority, which then forwarded it to the Office of the Prosecutor General, prompting the launch of a formal investigation. “At no point in Supo has there been any reason to assume that anyone had acted for the benefit of, for example, a foreign state, but the aim of the operations has always been to protect national security,” Supo stressed.
Classified information in the hands of retirees
According to Yle, Supo’s counterintelligence division had for years used retired agents on a voluntary basis to help manage the agency’s human intelligence network. These former officers collected sensitive information — including intelligence on Russian activities — and passed it on to active agents. The issue is that retirees lacked official clearance to access classified materials.
Yle notes that longtime Supo operatives maintain invaluable sources and expertise, especially crucial under current security conditions. However, if these retired agents were officially tasked or given access to classified data, these actions may constitute a criminal offense.
This risk proved real when one of the retirees became the target of a cyberattack. According to the newspaper Iltalehti, the attack was carried out by Russian actors, and the retiree’s computer was compromised — resulting in classified information falling into unauthorized hands. Following the breach, the practice of involving retirees was officially discontinued.
Pelttari was elected Secretary-General of the Finnish Parliament in late 2023 and assumed office at the start of 2024.
He previously led the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) from 2011, following senior roles at the Interior and Foreign Ministries, as well as serving as legal adviser to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees.
As noted by Yle, Pelttari succeeded Maija-Leena Paavola, the first woman to hold the position. Her predecessor, Seppo Tiitinen, also transitioned to the role after a long tenure as Supo director.
