Finland started an investigation after it was found out that Boris Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko, oligarchs with dual Russo-Finnish nationality, received their citizenships bypassing checks by the country’s security agency SUPO, STT reports.
The media outlet says both applied for fast track Finnish citizenship in 1998. This resulted in Timchenko receiving his Finnish passport after only one year, which is unusually fast for such a procedure.
Rotenberg became a Finnish citizen in 2003 which is an adequate term for those years, STT says. However, both applications were allegedly considered by authorities bypassing a SUPO security check.
Matti Saarelainen was in charge of Finland’s migration board at that time. He is suspected of helping bypass the security check, although he denies these allegations.
Finland closed its borders for Russians with tourist visas on 1 October 2022.
