Finland trying to eject Russians from Helsinki Arena

Helsinki’s largest sports and events venue, which has been closed since last year due to sanctions against its rich Russian owners, is being considered as a possible acquisition target by Finland. Authorities in the capital city believe that the arena’s idleness costs hotels, restaurants, and other companies up to 400 million euros ($420 million) in annual revenue. Gennady Timchenko, a billionaire with stakes in Russian energy firms, and Roman Rotenberg, a descendant of the influential Rotenberg family, are in charge of the location that served as the main arena for ice hockey, Finland’s national sport, in the past. Timchenko’s spokesperson declined to comment, while Rotenberg’s representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Finland is a staunch backer of European Union sanctions but believes an exception may be established to let it take control of the arena. Finland joined NATO in April in reaction to neighbouring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Finland’s foreign and justice ministries, it is also studying possibilities to expropriate the location if the Russian tycoons refuse to surrender their stakes freely. While Roman Rotenberg is the target of U.S. sanctions imposed against his father Boris, uncle Arkadiy, and their family because to their close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, all of Timchenko’s properties in the EU have been blocked. Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen expressed hope that the Russian owners will voluntarily sell. “We are aware that active negotiations to sell the hall are ongoing and we hope that the transaction would proceed as quickly as possible, in order to get the hall back to the use of Helsinkians,” Vartiainen told Reuters by email. The arena has attracted interest from a number of buyers, but the sale price would be locked by Finland’s bailiff authority under the current circumstances until the sanctions are eventually lifted, according to the foreign ministry of Finland. Expropriation of frozen assets is not covered by the EU’s current sanctions guidelines, which could make that choice more difficult, it was said. (With agency inputs)