The Finnish Ministry of Defence has refused authorisations for 11 real-estate purchases by non-EU/EEA nationals – including Russian, Israeli, Kazakh and Kyrgyz citizens – after deeming the assets strategically sensitive, Finnish broadcaster Yle revealed.
“The properties form part of one of the channels for hybrid influence operations,” declared Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen. Together with the full ban on purchases by Russian and Belarusian buyers that entered into force this summer, the authorisation system constitutes an effective tool, he added.
The thwarted properties are located along key corridors near the Baltic Sea shipping lanes and national route 5 – in Mikkeli, Parainen, Puumala, Taipalsaari, Savonlinna, Simo, Kouvola, Parikkala, Kolari and Tornio. One Russian national residing in the Czech Republic attempted to buy forest estates across five sites, ostensibly for forestry purposes, the ministry says, adding it could not rule out exploitation by hostile state actors.
In another case, an Israeli-Russian dual-national sought a holiday house on a parcel intersected by national highway 5 – a location the ministry criticised as enabling surveillance of transport flows and critical functions. A Kazakh buyer’s bid to take over a former holiday resort in Savonlinna was similarly rejected, citing connections to senior Russian state-run firms.
Notably, the purchases were announced only after payments in rubles – in one case – had predated the domestic property deal by a day. Helsinki viewed that as a “red flag” for opaque financing.
While none of the decisions are yet final, the ministry urged Parliament to move ahead swiftly with proposed legislation to ban all non-resident acquisitions by Russian nationals.