The city of Lohja has taken decisive action by terminating the employment of urban planning director Pekka Puistosalo following a recent internal audit that uncovered serious shortcomings in the management of procurement processes. The city’s announcement highlighted that the audit revealed issues directly violating procurement laws, leading Lohja to file a request for investigation with the police.

In the course of the internal audit, planned oversight of procurement agreements was found to be lacking, particularly regarding monitoring contract compliance and exceeding procurement thresholds. Notably, there were considerable discrepancies in some competitive contracts where the actual procurement values were significantly exceeded. These findings raised serious questions about the city’s procurement practices and the effectiveness of its oversight mechanisms.

The Lohja City Council made the decision to end Puistosalo's employment on Monday, March 2, with the notice period allowing for no work obligations during this time. It is important to note that while the audit focused on general procurement processes within the city, it did not identify deficiencies in the operations of the procurement unit belonging to the corporate services. This incident may raise concerns about local governance, accountability, and legal compliance in public administration, prompting further scrutiny of procurement practices within municipal frameworks.