Defence minister blocks fourth Imatra property sale

Finland’s defence minister has blocked the sale of a detached house in Imatra, the fourth property deal in the city to be rejected in a short period, Yle reports.

Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen made six negative decisions on Wednesday on property purchase applications from buyers outside the European Union and European Economic Area. One concerned a house on Viitakuja in Imatra. The application was submitted to the Defence Ministry in November 2025.

The current owner, a Finnish citizen, has owned the property since 2022. The house, built in 1962, sits on a plot of about 1,200 square metres and is currently available to rent.

The prospective buyer was Italian company Jugheli Immobiliare S.R.L., which works in property rental and management. Häkkänen said he rejected the sale because 10 per cent of the company’s ownership comes from outside the EU and EEA, specifically Georgia.

In June, Häkkänen blocked the sale of a property in Meltola, Imatra, to a Ukrainian citizen living in Ireland. The applicant wanted to use the property, which covered more than 1,000 square metres, for holidays. It is less than five kilometres from the national border. The applicant said they had never visited Finland and had no ties to Imatra. During the review, a third party answered requests for further information from the ministry. The party had a connection to the Russian state through a real estate agency it represented.

In March 2026, the minister rejected a sale in Meltola to an Uzbek citizen living in Estonia. The applicant had worked illegally in Finland and was deported in 2021, when they were also given a one-year entry ban.

In autumn 2024, the ministry blocked the sale of another Imatra property. A 61-year-old person living in Belgium had sought to buy it for holiday use. The property was an old kiosk near a railway and did not meet the technical minimum requirements for residential use.