EU country bans Russians from buying real estate: "Property can be misused"

Frankfurter Rundschau EU country bans Russians from buying real estate: "Property can be misused" Robert Wallenhauer • 5 hours • 2 minutes reading time Danger of espionage The Finnish government is planning a new law: Russians are to be banned from buying real estate. This is intended to prevent espionage and sabotage activities. Helsinki - The Finnish government wants to ban Russian citizens from buying real estate. A corresponding bill is to be presented to parliament, said Finland's Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen last week. The aim is to strengthen his country's security. Finland: New law aims to prevent Russian influence The draft law itself does not explicitly mention Russians, but is aimed at citizens "whose homeland is waging a war of aggression and poses a threat to Finland's internal security." In the current situation, this primarily affects people of Russian nationality, said Häkkänen. The ban will also apply to organizations based in such a country or managed or influenced by nationals of the country. The law is intended to prevent houses and apartments from being used for intelligence activities or sabotage against Finland. "Russia poses a continuing security threat to Europe and property can be misused to exert hostile influence," Defense Minister Häkkänen is quoted as saying in a statement. Finland has already blocked some real estate purchases from Russia Russian nationals with permanent residence permits for Finland or long-term residence permits for the European Union are to be exempted from the law. Parliament will vote on the government's proposal in the spring, according to the information. Finland and Russia have a common border of around 1,340 kilometers. Last year, the Nordic country had already blocked several real estate purchases by private individuals and companies with ties to Russia. In order to prevent third-party purchases on behalf of Russian citizens in the future, a permit requirement could be introduced, the Defense Ministry said. (AFP/dpa/row)