Makita Oy

Makita Oy is a Finnish subsidiary of Makita, a Japanese power tool manufacturing company. The firm received more than $20 million in its Helsinki bank account through Westburn Enterprises, a Laundromat company, in dozens of transactions between March 2013 and May 2014, as well as two transactions from Alaro Business and one from Tenby Services Ltd. The reason indicated was “for power tools.”

According to Makita Oy’s Finnish corporate financial officer, Laura Kawachi, these payments were for sales to the company’s Russian client, Tim Wood Ltd., which confirmed that the sums it owed would be paid by Westburn. Makita did not investigate the matter further, and its Finnish bank, Nordea, did not ask Makita about these payments. Nordea would not comment, citing bank secrecy. Kawachi noted that Makita no longer deals with this client.