HELSINKI, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday criticized the Finnish government’s plan to accelerate the confiscation of Russian-owned real estate in Finland and warned the Nordic country of countermeasures.
Many Russian owners of apartments and villas in Finland are struggling to pay their bills and taxes due to the European Union’s banking and payment sanctions against Russia over last year’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland’s Justice Minister Lina Meli said on Monday that unpaid maintenance fees and costs are causing problems in Finnish condominiums, where homeowners share responsibility for common expenses.
Evicting Russian owners for unpaid bills is not currently legal, Meri said, unless an official notice threatening confiscation is served. For this reason, the Finnish government plans to relax the rules regarding notifications.
“We cannot afford to remain in such an eternal stalemate in cases like this just because we cannot deliver certain notifications through official channels,” Meri told Finnish public broadcaster YLE.
Meri said electronic notification would be sufficient if the rules change, but did not provide other details about Finland’s plans.
Russia said Finland’s plan “ignores the rule of law.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement: “We will not leave without an appropriate response to such actions by the so-called civilized country of Finland.”
Finland is also considering ways to take control of Helsinki’s biggest sports and events arena, which has been closed since last year due to sanctions against its billionaire Russian owner.
Report by Anne Kaulanen.Editing: Rod Nickell
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