Finland Blocks Six Property Sales on National Security Grounds
(Bloomberg) -- NATO member Finland blocked six real estate transactions by foreign buyers on national security grounds.
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The would-be buyers of the properties located in the eastern part of the country near the Russian border were mostly individuals and included one company, the defense ministry said in a statement on Friday. The individuals and beneficial owners of the company are citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Switzerland, it said.
The denied permits come as the Nordic member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is working on putting in place a full ban of Russian property purchases, with a proposal for a draft law presented earlier this week. It’s responding to security concerns that have surfaced over purchases with links to Russia near critical infrastructure.
Over the years there have been numerous reports in Finland highlighting suspicious properties, some of which have contained fortifications with helipad fields, loss-making hotels kept afloat with owners linked to Russia as well as purchases in locations near critical infrastructure. In late 2022, Finland stopped the sale of a former nursing home near an army site, and has halted a handful of other transactions.
The government will also look into “more effective” expropriation and oversight of assets “central to society’s safety and security of supply,” it said this week.
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