(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Finnish-Syrian man who won global media fame for distributing toys to orphans in Syria revealed to Zaman al-Wasl that the Finnish government has subjected him to a rigid follow-up since 2016, putting him through countless investigations and research procedures.
Rami Adham said the international fame that his work and activities have received. His work has after all been addressed by all international media and in all languages.
He also explained the cause of intensified attention to the ‘dangerous’ nature of his activities."
A Helsinki court last Wednesday found Adham a guilty of money laundering and fraud, according to AFP.
Rami Adham, dubbed the "Toy Smuggler" for his campaign to collect money for orphans in the war-ravaged town of Aleppo, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for mis-directing charitable funds, and collecting over 300,000 euros ($342,000) in donations without the correct permits.
The district court found that funds raised while Adham was chair of the Finnish-Syrian Association did not all go directly to help people in Syria, as claimed.
Instead, 62,000 euros were spent on a cabin in a garden allotment. The court rejected Adham's explanation that the money came from his uncle in Saudi Arabia.
"It is also a clear fact that the purchase in question was not paid for out of personal funds," the written judgement said.
Adham assured the building mentioned in the charge is a land leased from the municipality itself, and that the money used to build the house came not from the fun raise but from his uncle who has been living in Saudi Arabia for 35 years and who wanted to help him invest in Finland in order to facilitate obtaining a visa to Europe.
Our responded then told the court that he bought a prefabricated house of about 46 square meters.
The court found out that the property was registered in his name so it seized the house and with it every single property he had collected during his 30 years in Finland.
The judge declared that Adham's three previous convictions meant a prison sentence was necessary. Finnish media has reported his prior convictions include tax fraud, drug offences and assault, AFP said.
The court did not hesitate to apply the law by letter, and did not take into account the current circumstances of Syria, Adham says.
Even the documents that he created: taking pictures and making videos, could not be recuperated from his partners in Syria. What made the matter more complicated was that as there were no government departments in the liberated areas of Syria to approve the authenticity of the invoices, it was difficult for the court to believe that the money collected had, indeed, entered Syria.
The 46-year-old father of six had gained internet fame and media attention by making trips to the besieged Syrian city to bring toys and financial help to Syrian orphans.
But in 2016 Finnish police said they had received several requests for investigation from citizens suspecting Adham might have withheld part of the donations.
Before the trial Adham denied the accusations, claiming he delivered aid for the children in different forms, not only in cash.
The Toy Smuggler says he was not aware that the campaign that he set up to benefit from media attention and publicity and through which he was able to collect about 86 thousand euros, that’s to say up to $ 100 thousand, needed a pre-license.
He added that the fundraising law in Finland is very complex, pointing out to the fact that associations are supposed to seek financial help from people in a private and not in a public way, but that they still have the right - in accordance with the license granted to them - to receive funds from philanthropists and volunteers from all cities.
Zaman Al Wasl
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