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Finnish defense ministry yet again bans real estate deals related to Russians

Minister of Defense Antti Hakkanen has issued three negative permit decisions regarding real estate acquisitions by buyers from outside the EU and European Economic Area

HELSINKI, January 10. /TASS/. The Finnish Defense Ministry has issued three negative decisions on real estate transactions concerning Russian buyers in particular, the ministry said in a press release.

Minister of Defense Antti Hakkanen has issued three negative permit decisions regarding real estate acquisitions by buyers from outside the EU and EEA (European Economic Area), the ministry said.

The negative decisions concerned one transaction in Ilomantsi, in which the buyer was a partially Russian-owned company, and two in Sotkamo, in which the parcel of real estate had been sold twice between different companies owned by the same owner, with the companies in question owned by a foundation registered in the UK, and one of the people in charge of the foundation from outside the EU and EEA, according to the ministry.

"The Ministry of Defense justified the Ilomantsi decision on the grounds that the property could be used in a way that could hamper the organization of national defense, the surveillance and safeguarding of territorial integrity and the assurance of national security. With respect to the Sotkamo decisions, the applicant did not fulfil its obligation to submit information to the Ministry of Defense during the permit process," the press release said.

The Finish Defense Ministry announced the first three bans concerning real estate transactions related to Russian citizens on October 19, 2023.

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