Finland wants to prevent Russians from buying real estate

The bill concerns "nationals of countries that are waging a war of aggression and who may pose a threat to Finnish national security" who would be prevented from acquiring real estate in Finland, according to a government statement.

"The government has just decided to submit a bill to parliament to prevent Russian real estate transactions in Finland," Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen told a news conference on Thursday, saying that "the aim is to strengthen the security of Finland and the Finns."

Although the text does not specifically target Russia, which invaded Ukraine and has been waging a high-intensity war there since 2022, the minister said that "they are the ones concerned."

Finland, which shares a 1.340-kilometre-long border with Russia, last year blocked several real estate transactions by individuals and companies linked to Russia, citing national security concerns.

According to the minister, the purpose of the text is to prevent these buildings from being used for purposes of "large-scale hostile influence", in concrete terms, to prevent them from being used to conceal espionage activities or to conduct sabotage operations.

Several European officials have publicly denounced the increase in clandestine activities attributed to the Russians on the continent since the invasion of Ukraine, whether it be espionage, assassination attempts or sabotage, as when several undersea cables were damaged in the Baltic, which borders Finland.

On Wednesday, for example, the security services of another Nordic country, Norway, considered it "likely that Russian intelligence services will attempt to carry out sabotage actions against targets in Norway in 2025."

Holders of Finnish residence permits or long-term permits from the European Union would be spared from the restrictions, and the minister added that systems would be put in place to prevent purchases through front men.

Parliament is expected to vote on the bill in the spring, Hakkanen said.