MOSCOW, August 12 (RAPSI) - A recent search at Finnish dairy product producer Valio was conducted in St. Petersburg  as part of a 45 million ruble banking case and was not related to the company’s activity, the official spokesman for the Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, announced.

“The purpose of the Investigative Committee search was to uncover new evidence against defendants in a criminal case and was not related to Valio’s business activities,” he noted.

“The investigation in this case found that in 2011-2013, a criminal group was involved in illegal banking activity in a number of Russian regions that eventually took in over 45 million rubles ($1.2 million). It has been revealed that members of the criminal group transferred funds to the accounts of over 20 legal entities, including the Valio offices in St. Petersburg, that were disguised as legal banking transactions,” Markin said.

Valio is the Russian subsidiary of the leading dairy producer in Finland. The subsidiary was established in 1994 in St. Petersburg, mainly to import and promote Valio products in Russia. Currently, Russia consumes some 49% of Finland’s exported dairy products.