Prosecutor demands four months suspended prison sentence for NAVI's Aleksib in Finnish tax case

The Finnish prosecution authority is demanding a four-month suspended prison sentence for NAVI's in-game leader Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen, who is charged with aggravated tax fraud. The case is being heard at the District Court of Eastern Uusimaa (Itä-Uudenmaan käräjäoikeus), and it was the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti that first reported on it.

According to the indictment, the now 29-year-old Finn received over 53,000 euros from Valve Corporation in the 2019 tax year without disclosing them to the tax authorities. He did not return his pre-filled tax return, from which the Valve income was missing, and as a result his tax was assessed more than 28,000 euros too low. The alleged offence took place in Vantaa between 19 May and 22 September 2020, that is, during the tax return period. The prosecutor believes that he sought a significant financial advantage, and that the matter should therefore be considered aggravated.

Aleksib acknowledges that the income was not disclosed, but he denies having acted with intent. According to the defence, the money originates from the sale of Counter-Strike stickers, where teams and players at Majors receive a share of the revenue. He was 22 years old at the time and, according to the defence, did not know that the income was taxable. He assumed that his obligations were covered because tax was already being deducted from his regular salary.

In 2019, Aleksib played for ENCE, who reached the final at IEM Katowice Major that year. The charge was first reported in March 2026. At the time, he only told Iltalehti that the case concerned income from competitive gaming.

This is not the first time a Counter-Strike figure has ended up in court over taxes. Swedish player Robin "flusha" Rönnquist was convicted in 2020 for failing to disclose prize money of over 100,000 dollars, but avoided prison.

The district court will deliver its verdict at a later date.