Finlands parliament voted unanimously in favor of a proposed restriction on Russians frombuying residential or commercial property and putting in hostile influence on the country, the Finnish Defense Ministrysaid Friday.Finland, which shares the EU and NATOs longest border with Russia, has obstructed several real estate purchases by Russian nationals and companies over the previous year, citing national security risks.This decision sends a clear message: we will not allow Finland to be undermined, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said in a statement.The restriction would not apply to Russians or other immigrants with a Finnish long-term home authorization or an EU house authorization approved by Helsinki, permitting them to look for approval from Finlands Defense Ministry for transactions.The precise language of the recently passed law bars people and business from countries that wage a war of aggression and pose a prospective danger to Finlands national security from performing realty transactions.Hakkanen stated the government will now draft a decree identifying the nations that are subject to the restriction and will present legislation on ex post facto intervention and control of foreign-bought property.The new ban also includes provisions for a license requirement that would prevent circumventions through so-called dummy purchases, where somebody buys property on behalf of another to hide the true buyers identity.In 2013, Hakkanen designated a working group to assess the real estate purchase restriction for Russian citizens, with the Defense Ministrysaying such residential or commercial property could be utilized versus the Finnish economy, infrastructure, companies and security.A Message from The Moscow Times: Dear readers, We are facing unmatched obstacles.
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