Finland: Kökar campsite owner denies ties to the Kremlin
In Finland, Anton Veg, the new owner of the Sandvik Hällor guest harbor and campsite on the island of Kökar in the Åland archipelago, denied any ties to the Kremlin. In May, the property got a new owner — Veg, who holds Finnish and Russian citizenship.
As YLE News reports, attention to the ownership change was drawn by an Ålands Radio report about Veg’s dual citizenship. The radio station also reported alleged indirect ties between Sandvik Hällor board member Oskar Karlström and the Kremlin. The harbor is located near an important shipping route, about one kilometer from a maritime guard station.
Owner’s position
Veg, who was born in St. Petersburg, said that he has lived in Finland since 1993, received his education there, and worked in the real estate and hospitality sectors. According to him, he had long planned to buy a campsite, and his goal is to operate and develop this business.
Before taking over Sandvik Hällor, Veg contacted Finland’s Ministry of Defence by email. He asked whether his dual citizenship could prevent him from acquiring real estate in Finland or in the Åland Islands. The reply dated April 14 stated that restrictions on real estate acquisitions by Russian citizens do not apply to people with Finnish and Russian citizenship.
Ministry representative Rikard Lindholm stressed that the agency had not assessed the specific transaction but had provided general advice. According to him, Finnish legislation does not apply in the Åland Islands, and the state has no relevant powers there. Corporate transactions also do not fall within the ministry’s competence.
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Board member’s explanation
Karlström, who has been on the company’s board since 2019 and works at Sandvik, links claims of possible ties to the Kremlin to an incident in 2023. At that time, a sailboat with an engine failure was towed to the harbor, with a Russian-born man on board. Ålands Radio described the man as the head of the Russian analytical center CPAIS and referred to his contact with Karlström.
Karlström said that he received the visitor as an ordinary guest, spoke with him, and showed him a video filmed on the island. According to him, there were no other contacts between them. He also said that he does not speak Russian and considers such accusations serious.
Monitoring on the island
Kari Liuhto, a professor of intelligence studies at the Turku School of Economics, noted that Russia, an aggressor state, could theoretically exert pressure on its citizens with dual citizenship. At the same time, he cautioned against focusing exclusively on Russian origin or dual citizenship. In his view, attention should be paid to cases of unusual ownership where the real estate has no clear commercial purpose.
The Maritime Border Guard said that it had increased monitoring on the strategically important island due to the changed geopolitical situation. Maritime guard chief Markus Åkerfelt said that the service was aware of the change in ownership of the harbor and could deploy additional resources if necessary.
