Russia Argues Crimea Sovereignty in Finnish Court; Court Dismisses Lack of Realistic Basis

Central News Agency (Helsinki) June 2 - Russia presented an absurd argument in a Finnish court, claiming that if the Finnish court enforced an international Hague tribunal ruling, it would be equivalent to "Finland recognizing Crimea as part of Russia." The Helsinki District Court dismissed this claim as "lacking a realistic basis" and ordered Russia to pay over 4 billion euros (approx. 140 billion NTD) to Ukraine's Naftogaz to compensate for the loss of assets seized in Crimea. The Helsinki District Court made the ruling in March this year, and the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) recently disclosed the details. If the Court of Appeal upholds the original ruling and enforces it, Finland could become the first country in Europe to actually convert seized Russian state assets into compensation for Ukraine, setting a benchmark for other European countries in handling Russian overseas assets. According to reports, law enforcement agencies have already seized dozens of Russian state assets, including the Russian Science and Culture Center in Helsinki, with a total valuation of at least 40 million euros (approx. 1.4 billion NTD). Since the autumn of 2024, Finnish authorities have been actively freezing assets to prevent Russia from transferring them. However, Russia has appealed, and the High Court has not yet made a final decision, so the assets cannot be auctioned or liquidated for the time being. The root of this lawsuit dates back to the 2014 historical event when Russia forcibly annexed Crimea. At that time, infrastructure and operational assets owned by Ukraine's Naftogaz in the region were nationalized by Russia without compensation. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which handles investment disputes between states and companies, made a key ruling in 2023 after years of review, requiring Russia to pay the company more than 4 billion euros in principal and interest. However, the arbitration court itself has no enforcement power. For Naftogaz to actually obtain compensation, it must apply for enforcement in local courts in countries where Russia holds assets, such as the UK, France, Austria, and the US. Finland became the first country in the world to put the seizure into action because it holds Russian state-owned real estate within its borders. The Helsinki District Court ruled in March this year that Finland must fulfill its treaty obligations and transfer the seized Russian assets to Naftogaz. To delay the legal process, Russia requested the Finnish court to postpone the hearing, waiting for the result of the Hague's cancellation of the lawsuit. The District Court firmly rejected this request, clearly stating that the Hague procedure would take several years, and if it were deliberately delayed, it would cause irreparable and unreasonable damage to the applicant. Russia's attempt to interfere with the judiciary using sovereignty arguments was directly slapped down by the court with harsh language. Matti Tolvanen, a Finnish scholar of criminal and procedural law, admitted in an interview with Yle, "If the High Court ultimately upholds the original ruling, the seized assets and proceeds from their sale will be used directly to pay the Ukrainian company's claim according to normal procedures." He further analyzed that this would show that the Finnish judicial system strictly adheres to international conventions and handles everything according to the law.