Finland is prepared to pay compensation next year to victims of the WinCapita case, the country's biggest ever financial fraud, Finnish media reported on Thursday.

According to Finnish newspaper Iltalehti, the ministry of justice has put aside 8 million euros (9 million U.S. dollars) of its budget for next year to pay the compensation.

The WinCapita club was a Finnish Internet-based Ponzi scheme, which advertised itself as a private investment club engaged in currency trading. It operated mainly in Finland, and also operated with a smaller number of members in Sweden from 2005 to 2008.

The operation, which collected about 100 million euros from over 10,000 investors, was considered the largest swindle in Finland.

At the beginning of 2015, the Northern Savo District Court ruled that defendants in the WinCapita case must forfeit their illegal gains to the State of Finland.

Kari Kiesilainen, of the justice ministry, told Iltalehti the state had collected about 24 million euros of the illegal profits.

Kiesilainen said the funds seized during criminal investigations would be returned to the victims.

So far, about 1,300 people have applied for compensation, according to Kiesilainen.

"It is impossible to say at the moment if the eight million euros is sufficient (to cover the compensation), as the case is still in process," Kiesilainen was quoted as saying.

The criminal investigation on the fraud case started in November 2009 and the trial against the suspects began in February 2011.

In February 2014, the Supreme Court of Finland upheld the verdict made by the Helsinki Court of Appeal and sentenced the founder of WinCapita to five years imprisonment.

In January 2015, the Northern Savo District Court decided to give the other three main defendants sentences of one year and 10 months, one year, and three months in prison respectively. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) Endit

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