Police open criminal probe over Google datacentre forest clearing in Finland
Finnish police have opened a criminal investigation into possible breaches of environmental law at the site of a planned Google datacentre in northern Finland. The Oulu Police Department announced the probe on 29 October 2026, saying it concerns preparatory work for the Muhos project run by Tuike Finland Oy, according to the police announcement.
Tuike Finland is a Google subsidiary. Authorities allege that the company cleared and drained 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest at the Muhos site before environmental impact assessments were completed. These assessments are studies that Finnish law requires before a project can be judged for its effects on nature and water, and the Guardian reported the allegation in those terms.
Police said that, based on preliminary information, there were ambiguities and shortcomings in how drainage and water management had been handled at the construction site.
The investigation follows an earlier order in October. Finnish authorities told Google to suspend work at Muhos and at Otanmäki, a second planned site about 100 km south-east of Muhos, after the company had not completed the assessments before clearcutting, which means cutting down all the trees in an area. Finland's Supervisory Agency also told Google to halt preparatory measures that alter the environment at both datacentre sites.
Campaigners estimate that 250,000 trees were felled at Muhos and 150,000 at Otanmäki. Google's Finland country manager, Antti Järvinen, apologised for the forest clearings.
Google has described its 13 billion euro artificial intelligence infrastructure project in Finland as its largest investment in Europe. A datacentre is a facility that houses large banks of computer servers. Finnish authorities are considering applications for a total of 145 new datacentres at various stages of planning, and more than 93,000 people have signed a petition calling for more datacentre regulation and compensation for environmental damage.
Environmental impact assessment reports for both Google sites are expected to be completed before the end of 2026, according to QZ.
