Finnish law enforcement freezes assets of the Russian center for science and culture in Helsinki

Due to EU sanctions, the Finnish authorities have frozen the finances of the Russian Center for Science and Culture located in Helsinki.

Photo: Demonstration at the Russian Embassy in Helsinki Friday 8 April, 2022. @Bradley Reynolds/Twitter

This is reported by the Finnish media outlet Kauppalehti.

It is noted that the assets of the Russian cultural and scientific center in Helsinki were first frozen by Nordea Bank, and later bailiffs finally decided to arrest them.

Nordea has announced that it has blocked the accounts of the Russian Center for Science and Culture and frozen the funds.

“Before the aggression began, the Russian Center for Science and Culture cooperated with the Finnish-Russian Society, which was largely funded by taxpayers. The Russian Center for Science and Culture was located in a stone house on Nordenskiöldinkatu Street in Helsinki, with a Soviet-style hammer and sickle on the wall,” the journalists said.

The Russian Center for Science and Culture organized, among other things, cultural events, and language courses. According to its website, it also promoted “cooperation between researchers and businessmen.”

Another Finnish media outlet, Talouselämä, reported that the Russian Center for Science and Culture is supported by the Russian foreign intelligence service. However, this is a common practice for Russian cultural diplomacy institutions.

Earlier it was reported about the effectiveness of Finnish counterintelligence, which managed to halve the number of Russian agents in Finland last year. This effectiveness is explained, among other things, by the expulsion of Russian diplomats.

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