On March 31, 2025, the Finnish Market Court ruled that Attendo Suomi Oy committed a procedural violation of competition law by obstructing an inspection conducted by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA). This ruling resulted in a €1.5 million penalty, marking the first instance of such a penalty being imposed in Finland.

The FCCA had previously requested a penalty of approximately €4.4 million against Attendo for the same obstruction, which occurred during unannounced inspections in January 2023 at various care sector companies and their trade association. During the inspection, an employee of Attendo deleted work-related WhatsApp conversations and call logs from their phone, which the FCCA deemed a serious violation.

Since 2021, the FCCA has had the authority to propose penalties for procedural violations, with fines potentially reaching up to 1% of a company's turnover. In this case, the Market Court concluded that Attendo's actions constituted a significant obstruction of the inspection process.

While the FCCA acknowledged Attendo's cooperation in restoring the deleted information when determining the penalty amount, the Market Court emphasized that this cooperation should be weighed more heavily in the overall assessment of the penalty. The decision is not yet final, as the FCCA is reviewing it and may consider an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.