The Russian Embassy in Finland called the ban on the purchase of housing discrimination

The ban on the purchase of real estate in Finland may affect about 20 thousand Russians living in the country. The Russian Embassy told Izvestia about this on April 14.

"The Finnish authorities have taken another discriminatory step against Russian citizens <...>. Exceptions are provided only for holders of permanent residence permits. According to the estimates of the authorities, the restrictions may affect about 20 thousand Russians living in the country," the agency informed.

It is specified that the Finnish parliament approved a bill banning real estate transactions of Russians on April 11. The Parliament unanimously supported the Government's proposal to introduce these amendments to the legislation. Formally, there is no mention of Russia in the document. Despite this, Finland does not deny that the law applies specifically to citizens of the Russian Federation.

"In recent years, it has been difficult to get rid of the impression that Finland applies very special interpretations of human rights standards to Russian citizens. We have to admit that in this regard, the country is increasingly following the example of the most odious Russophobic states in Europe," the Russian Embassy said.

According to the agency, Finland is working on legislative amendments related to completed real estate transactions. They will be introduced under the pretext of "protecting national security" from the "Russian threat."

Monetary offset: realtors want to introduce a self-lock on cash on the secondary market

It is assumed that the measure will reduce the number of frauds when concluding sales transactions.

In October 2024, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced a strong protest over the actions of the Finnish bailiff service, which seized 45 Russian-owned real estate in Finland.

Prior to that, it became known that Russian facilities had been seized in the country at the request of the Ukrainian company Naftogaz. According to the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, this includes a plot of land and an office building housing the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC). The next day, the Russian Embassy sent a protest note to the Finnish Foreign Ministry in connection with the seizure of real estate in the country.

Subsequently, the head of the Finnish bailiff service, Aki Virtanen, said that the country could continue to seize Russian property. It was clarified that the decision of the Helsinki District Court could result in confiscation of $ 4.2 billion. At the same time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that any unlawful decisions by Finland to confiscate Russia's frozen assets would not go unanswered.