Finnish Capital Forces Russian Owners to Sell City's Largest Sports Arena to Finns

Helsinki has forced the sanctioned Russian owners to sell the city's largest sports arena to Finnish investors, Reuters reports, citing the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The deal was announced the day after Helsinki initiated the expropriation of the arena from its Russian owners.

In 2023, the city said that Russian-Finnish businessmen Gennadiy Timchenko and Roman Rotenberg, who control the company that owns the arena, would face expropriation if they did not voluntarily sell the property.

‘The Helsinki Arena, a large concert venue and hockey arena, has been closed since 2022 due to sanctions imposed on Russian investors following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that year.

The extension of the expropriation was reportedly necessary to stop the building from deteriorating and to prevent damage to Finland's reputation for its inability to cater for major international events.

In 2023, the capital's authorities estimated that hotels, restaurants and other businesses lost up to $425.24 million in revenue per year while the arena was idle.

All of Timchenko's assets in the EU are frozen, and Rotenberg is subject to US sanctions imposed on his father Boris, uncle Arkadiy and their families for their close ties to Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, the Helsinki District Court granted a motion filed by Naftogaz of Ukraine and five other Naftogaz Group companies and seized certain assets owned by Russia in Finland.