Helsinki approved wage subsidies for Russia-linked groups despite rejecting one in five applications

One in five applications for Helsinki’s wage subsidies were rejected last year, yet two associations connected to a Russian camp in occupied Crimea received funding, Yle Uutiset reports. The city is now reviewing all recipients and plans to reclaim the funds.

The city’s employment services director, Annukka Sorjonen, acknowledged that the screening process relies heavily on applicants’ self-reported information. “It’s clear that the descriptions in the applications are quite general,” she said, noting that detailed background checks on all applicants are not feasible with current resources.

In 2025, Helsinki processed nearly 2,400 wage subsidy applications, rejecting 483—about 20 percent. This year’s rejection rate has risen to nearly 30 percent. Despite this, associations linked to the sanctioned Artek camp in Crimea passed the initial review.

The city has launched an external investigation into all 2025 subsidy recipients after reports revealed funding had gone to groups tied to Russian propaganda efforts. Sorjonen confirmed that Helsinki intends to recover the payments made to the Sun Ray association but declined to specify the legal grounds while the review is ongoing.

Applications for the Helsinki Bonus—a local wage subsidy—require only basic details about the employer and employee, not the nature of the work or organizational ideology. While the city verifies tax records, it does not systematically check for compliance with EU sanctions or alignment with Helsinki’s ethical partnership principles.

Sorjonen denied that high unemployment in the city justified a lax approval process, calling the funding of Russia-linked activities “deeply regrettable” and contrary to Helsinki’s values. She argued for stricter legal requirements to gather more thorough applicant data.

In 2023, Yle reported on 16-year-old Ukrainian Vitali Vertash, who was forcibly taken to a “re-education” camp in Crimea under the guise of a summer program. His two-week stay extended to six months of pro-Russian indoctrination.