Helsinki mayor demands changes after city funded Russia-linked youth recruitment

Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov has received a report on controversial wage subsidies paid to the Sun Ray association, which recruits Finnish children for a Russian propaganda camp in occupied Crimea, Yle reports. The city had granted over €45,000 in employment support to the group before its ties to Russia emerged.

Sazonov stated the subsidies would never have been approved had officials been aware of the association’s activities. “It is repugnant that someone in this country, through an association or any other means, recruits children for Russia’s hybrid influence operations,” he said. “Not a single euro of public money should go to such actors.”

The city has halted all subsidy payments for several weeks to review its grant processes. During this period, officials will re-examine recent funding decisions and strengthen criteria to prevent similar cases. Legal measures to reclaim the paid subsidies are also being explored.

Sazonov called for legislative changes to enable stricter vetting of employers receiving public funds. Current rules focus primarily on jobseekers, but he argued that employer background checks must be expanded—requiring national-level support to gather necessary information. “The law must unambiguously allow us to deny support in cases like this,” he said.

Under existing procedures, subsidy applications rely on broadly stated details. The mayor emphasized that public funds must never end up with “such repugnant operators,” urging systemic reforms to close loopholes.