NAVI's Aleksib Convicted of Tax Fraud Over Undeclared Valve Earnings

NAVI Counter-Strike 2 captain Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen has been convicted of aggravated tax fraud in Finland over undeclared income from Valve.

The Eastern Uusimaa District Court handed the 29-year-old a four-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

The case concerns roughly €53,000 in earnings linked to his time with ENCE in 2019, connected to IEM Katowice and StarLadder Berlin, which took place during the CS:GO era.

According to reporting on the case, the undeclared Valve income resulted in approximately €28,000 in underpaid income tax.

Major stickers give participating players a source of earnings alongside their team salaries and tournament winnings.

In Aleksib’s case, those additional payments became the focus of the proceedings after they were left off his tax declaration.

Aleksib acknowledged that the money was missing from his tax return but denied deliberately avoiding tax.

His defense argued that he believed taxes had already been handled on the money paid into his accounts.

The court rejected that explanation, noting the missing payments represented approximately a third of his total income for 2019.

Judges considered it implausible that he would have overlooked the omission while reviewing his tax documents.

The court concluded that the failure to report the earnings was intentional and aimed at obtaining a significant financial benefit.

The four-month sentence is suspended, meaning the ruling does not send Aleksib straight to prison.

His sentence includes a two-year probation period, and the reported appeal deadline is November 26, 2026.

Aleksib has since paid the outstanding taxes, according to reporting on the verdict, but that repayment did not prevent the conviction.

For the NAVI captain, who led the team to the PGL Copenhagen Major title in 2024, the next legal step is whether he challenges the ruling.