A criminal Google data centre investigation has begun in northern Finland after police opened an inquiry into suspected environmental offences at the company’s construction site in Muhos. The Oulu Police Department announced the probe following multiple referrals from regulators and local authorities concerning widespread land clearing and inadequate water runoff safeguards.
Key points
- Oulu Police Department opened a criminal environmental probe into Google‘s local subsidiary, Tuike Finland Oy, covering five separate formal complaints.
- Investigators are focusing on drainage failures and the clearing of 330 hectares of woodland before mandatory environmental reviews concluded.
- Regulators halted work across two northern sites and gave Google until 5 November to submit revised water management plans or face fines.
- The criminal investigation is expected to take several months and may run until 2027, with the next public update due in December.
Water management and forest clearance under scrutiny
The inquiry centres on preparatory groundworks in Muhos, a municipality southeast of Oulu. Google acquired the land through its Finnish subsidiary, Tuike Finland Oy, as part of a wider €13bn infrastructure expansion across the country announced in September.
Before finishing a statutory environmental impact assessment, contractors cleared roughly 330 hectares of forest. The clearing removed an estimated 250,000 trees across land rich in acidic black shale soils, raising alarms among regional environmental inspectors about acid runoff and soil stability.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency asked police to intervene after finding that initial water management measures failed to protect surrounding waterways. Police said that preliminary findings pointed to “ambiguities and deficiencies in drainage and water management at the construction site of Tuike Finland Oy’s data centre project”.
Officers have consolidated five separate investigation requests into a single case. In an official statement, the Oulu Police Department, which announced the investigation, indicated that detectives may file further charges as technical evidence is gathered from the site.
Regulators freeze work across northern sites
The criminal inquiry follows administrative action taken earlier in October. Regional supervisors ordered Tuike Finland to halt all preparatory excavation and felling at both Muhos and a second planned campus in Kajaani-Otanmäki because environmental paperwork remained incomplete.
Tuike Finland confirmed on 14 October that it had halted operations at both locations. Inspectors reported that the company had failed to demonstrate how it would contain wastewater, surface runoff and soil leaching during periods of severe weather.
The supervisory authority has ordered Google to produce a detailed water management plan by 5 November. That filing must explain how the site will handle snowmelt, heavy autumn rainfall and acidic runoff from disturbed rock strata. If the documentation falls short, regulators have warned they will start formal enforcement action, which could include recurring conditional fines.
The standoff mirrors broader legal disputes over rapid hyperscale expansions. In the United States, rival developers have faced local pushback, including an xAI data centre lawsuit challenging municipal and environmental approvals for rapid industrial buildouts.
Google responds as inquiry extends into 2027
Google said it is cooperating fully with Finnish authorities. In a statement to local media, the company said: “We are actively responding to questions from LVV and other authorities.”
Antti Järvinen, the country director for Google in Finland, publicly apologised for the premature forest felling during an interview with national broadcaster Yle. Järvinen said the company had acted on its best understanding of local planning legislation at the time groundworks started.
Detectives have warned that environmental cases involving large-scale land alteration require detailed ecological sampling and expert testimony. Police expect the inquiry to continue through next year and conclude in 2027. The Oulu Police Department plans to release its next formal progress update on the case in December.
