NAVI captain Aleksib convicted of aggravated tax fraud

NAVI captain Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen has been convicted of aggravated tax fraud in Finland. The Eastern Uusimaa District Court handed the 29-year-old Counter-Strike 2 player a four-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday, 27 October.

The case concerns income from Valve in 2019 that was omitted from his tax return. According to the ruling, roughly €53,200 went unreported, leaving Virolainen with about €28,200 less tax paid than he owed.

Court rejects explanation for omitted income

The payments were reportedly linked to in-game sticker sales. Virolainen accepted that the income had been left off his return, but said he had not intended to avoid paying tax. His defence argued that he believed his tax affairs had been settled because tax was already being withheld from his regular salary.

The court was not persuaded. It reportedly noted that the omitted amount represented roughly a third of his earnings for the year. Judges also considered Virolainen’s statement that he normally reviewed his pre-filled tax return, making an honest oversight difficult to accept.

The judges found that the omission was aimed at significant financial gain and was serious enough to qualify as aggravated tax fraud. In deciding the sentence, they took into account that he had no previous convictions and had since settled the tax bill. The four-month suspended sentence matched what prosecutors had requested at the hearing.

What the ruling means for the NAVI captain

The suspended sentence means Virolainen will not go to prison, but the ruling adds a criminal conviction to his record. He continues to play for NAVI as the team’s primary in-game leader and recently helped it finish first at IEM Atlanta 2026.

Virolainen rose to prominence during his 2019 spell with ENCE before later joining OG and NAVI. He became the first Finnish player to win a CS2 Major when NAVI claimed the PGL Major Copenhagen title in March 2024, and subsequently received HLTV’s IGL of the Year award.

The conviction has drawn attention across the CS2 community because of his standing in the game. Reports cited in the source estimate his career tournament earnings at around US$975,641 across 144 tournaments; the court case, however, centred on the separate 2019 income omitted from his tax return.