Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen has found himself hitting the headlines in and out of the CS2 community recently, but for all the wrong reasons. The NAVI captain, who’s also one of the most prominent in-game leaders in Counter-Strike history, has been convicted of aggravated tax fraud in Finland. The 29-year-old was handed a four-month suspended prison sentence by the Eastern Uusimaa District Court on Tuesday, October 27.
Over the past day, this case has spread like wildfire on social media forums worldwide and garnered the attention of the entire CS2 community because of his status as a Major winner and as one of the game’s most respected IGLs.
For the unaware, Aleksib is a Finnish CS2 pro who rose to fame during his 2019 stint with ENCE, before joining OG and NAVI in the following years. He became the first Finnish player to win a CS2 Major when NAVI claimed the PGL Major Copenhagen title in March 2024. Shortly after, he earned HLTV’s IGL of the Year award, and reports estimate his career tournament earnings at around $975,641 USD across 144 tournaments.
To this day, Aleksib is playing with NAVI as the roster’s primary IGL and recently helped the org secure a first-place finish at the IEM Atlanta 2026.
Aleksib Charges Explained: What is He Accused of?
Aleksib’s case revolves around payments from Valve in 2019, reportedly linked to in-game sticker sales, that were missing from his tax return. According to the ruling, roughly €53,200 went unreported, so he paid about €28,200 less tax than he owed.
Aleksib accepted that the income was left off the return, but said it was never his intention to avoid tax. His defense argued that he assumed everything was settled because tax was already being withheld from his regular salary.
This wasn’t enough to persuade the court, though. It reportedly noted that the missing sum made up roughly a third of what he earned that year, and that Aleksib himself had said he normally went through his pre-filled return, which made an honest oversight hard to believe.
As per the judges, that the omission was aimed at significant financial gain and was serious enough to be aggravated. When deciding the punishment, they weighed in his favour that he had never been convicted before and had since settled the tax bill. This outcome matches what the prosecutors had asked for at the hearing.
Note that the ruling means he won’t go to prison, but it does add a criminal conviction to the record of one of the most respected CS2 players of all time.
