The Kremlin Arena: Russian oligarchs locked in struggle over Finland’s largest stadium

RU

Toxic owners

In late February 2022, just after winning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, the Russian ice hockey team began its preparations for the World Championships in May. The team was set to play all of its preparatory matches at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland's largest stadium. The arena was also slated to host the tournament.

For Hartwall Arena chairman Roman Rotenberg — the son of businessman Boris Rotenberg, nephew of Arkady Rotenberg, and, at the time, the head coach of the SKA Saint Petersburg hockey club — this was a unique opportunity to regain influence with the national team. Four years prior, he had played a minor role in the team’s gold medal run at the Pyeongchang Olympics in a position he invented for himself: head of the national team staff. The post technically placed him above the coaches and opened access to operational management. However, before Beijing-2022, Roman Rotenberg was sidelined.

This time around, Rotenberg's plans were derailed by Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. By Mar. 1, the Russian national team was already suspended from participation in the Championships. Moreover, the organizers had to move the tournament from Hartwall Arena — the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) could not hold its flagship event at a venue owned by Russian businessmen.

In the spring of 2022, the arena lost its main partner, alcoholic and soft beverage manufacturer Hartwall (since then, it has been referred to as Helsinki Hall or Helsinki Arena), along with all of its lessees. Due to political pressure, Jokerit, a prominent Helsinki-based ice hockey club, withdrew from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) season despite having secured a spot in the playoffs.

Jokerit played their last game at Hartwall Arena on Jan. 5, 2022, after which the KHL had to suspend matches due to a COVID-19 outbreak and then extend the pause for the duration of the Olympics. By the time play resumed, Russia had invaded Ukraine, and the Finnish club withdrew from the competition.

Since then, the arena has been mothballed. After Timchenko and the senior Rotenbergs came under EU sanctions, all contractors and lessees terminated their deals with Arena Events, its managing company. Although Roman Rotenberg, the chair of its Board of Directors, is a Finnish national (he moved to Finland at the age of ten with his parents Boris Rotenberg and Inna Karanen in the early 1990s, repatriating on the grounds of Karanen’s Ingrian ancestry), his connection to Russia is undeniable. Roman is not on the EU sanctions list but has been under U.S. sanctions since July 2015. Finland even requested an explanation from the U.S. as to why a Finnish citizen was on Washington’s sanctions list.

The arena was also the largest concert venue in Finland. After the ice hockey championship, it was to host Cirque du Soleil in June 2022, as well as concerts by Eric Clapton, Björk, and Dua Lipa. Clapton's performance was eventually moved to the neighboring city of Tampere, while Björk and Dua Lipa could not find an alternative venue and canceled their shows.

Helsinki mayor Juhana Vartiainen said in early March 2022:

“It is not possible to do business with Russians on the sanctions list. At this stage, we can only make sure that the hall pays its taxes and fulfills its obligations.”

He feared that forcing the owners to sell would risk losing ongoing payments from the arena but suggested that a change of ownership would be a good way to make the arena operational again while complying with the sanctions.

Since then, the Finnish authorities have been pursuing various paths to a change of the arena's ownership.

Walked away from the deal

Finland owns the land on which the arena stands, but the main owners of the facility itself are Putin confidant Gennady Timchenko and the Rotenberg family. Together they hold 44% of the shares (22.5% + 21.5%); another 13% is retained by the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation, and the rest is distributed among 557 small shareholders. However, the Russian businessmen hold 93.9% of voting shares, which ensures their full control of the facility.

The arena opened its doors in 1997. Timchenko and the Rotenbergs bought it in 2013 from Finnish businessman Harry Harkimo for 35 million euros as a means of entering the local ice hockey scene. They also gained control over 49% of Jokerit shares, and since the 2014-2015 season, the Finnish top club played in the KHL instead of in its home country’s national championship.

This was a milestone development for Timchenko, who had chaired the KHL board of directors since 2012. Since its launch in 2008, the KHL sought to compete with the North American National Hockey League (NHL) and wanted to attract representatives from all European countries with prominent ice hockey clubs.

Announcing the purchase of the arena and the stake in Jokerit at a June 2013 press conference in Helsinki, Timchenko remarked that the club’s accession to the KHL was just the first step and that clubs from Sweden and Switzerland would follow suit (which never happened). Roman Rotenberg added: “Local championships are slowly starting to die. As a Finnish resident, I can see that.”

Nearly a decade later, after withdrawing from the KHL following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Jokerit missed a season and didn't play for around a year and a half. The club used that period to overhaul its management structure and cleanse itself of ties to Russia. In April 2022, the club's general manager and former star hockey player, Jari Kurri, bought a 40% stake in Jokerit from Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta, a subsidiary of the Russian metals giant and thus became the team’s sole owner (Timchenko transferred his stake to the metals company, which sold it along to Kurri). The team spent the 2023-2024 season in Finland's second-strongest division and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Although any issues with the hockey team itself appear to have been settled, the arena’s fate remains far from certain. Currently, Finland is looking for a legal way to seize the stadium from its own citizens, as both Timchenko and Boris Rotenberg, Roman's father, hold Finnish passports. As a plan B, the authorities are laying the groundwork for the sale of the arena and thereby resolve the issue via a business deal. So far, neither of the scenarios has worked out.

Back in April 2022, it became known that Ulosottolaitos, the Finnish national authority leading foreclosures, had attempted to seize Timchenko’s 10-million-euro share in the company that owns the arena. The attempt was made four days after Timchenko was placed on the sanctions list, but judging from the fact that he is still listed as the owner in official statements, the seizure was never accomplished. Around the same time, the agency blocked payments from the oligarch's Luxembourg-based company, which had previously covered the arena's operating activities through a Finnish legal entity.

These measures were not enough. For instance, in November 2023, it was assumed that the Finnish authorities could take advantage of the EU's permission for sanctioned individuals to sell their frozen assets. Under this arrangement, if an agreement was reached, the assets could be unfrozen for six months in order to be transferred to new ownership, while the proceeds from the transaction would remain frozen.

The arena owners signaled their willingness to sell. Timchenko's representative and longtime business partner in Finland, Kai Paananen, stated that in principle, the Russian side had agreed to the deal. The terms, however, required negotiation.

Nearly a year on, a spokesperson for the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to The Insider that the Finnish authorities are still seeking to identify the fastest way to put the arena back in operation and that a variety of options and scenarios are currently on the table.

“The shares of the Helsinki Hall that belong to the listed persons are frozen at the moment. Freezing of the shares does not prevent the hall from being used for its purpose, but it is rather the image related to sanctions and Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine that has led to the situation in which the hall is not used. According to our knowledge, lately the company has not been able to receive any bank services and has had trouble paying its bills,” the ministry explained.

As The Insider learned, Timchenko and the Rotenbergs recently had an opportunity to close the deal. The potential sale was approved by the Finnish authorities, but the Russian side ultimately declined the terms.

As the Finnish Foreign Ministry spokesperson outlined the situation, the potential buyer reached an agreement on all key points of the negotiations, but the sellers withdrew at the final stage. She specified that the deal from the Russian side was prepared by Moscow-based lawyers, and one of the reasons why the proposed agreement failed was the prospect of having the proceeds frozen due to personal sanctions against the owners.

“This is a good example of how a rules-based Western country can find itself in a difficult situation when rule-bending oligarchs are using our system for their benefit,” investigative journalist Jyri Hanninen of Yle told The Insider. Hanninen’s investigations into offshore firms linked to Timchenko and the Rotenbergs, among other things, motivated the Finnish authorities' decisions to initiate seizures and other measures against the oligarchs.

“It’s hard to bypass the constitution, even in a case of sanctioned oligarchs,” explains Hanninen. “It is a politically difficult situation, because the right of ownership is protected by the constitution, and it could be hard to pass a law directed to just a few individuals or companies.”

Meanwhile, the Finnish side is looking for workarounds and considering legislative amendments that would create grounds for expropriation. According to Helsinki Sanomat, the government has allocated 200,000 euros for the drafting and enforcement of the new law. The outlet notes that, since the Ministry of Justice would require additional resources in order to pursue such a solution, “Money has been set aside to break the stalemate.”

Previously, Helsinki City Hall designated the end of September as the deadline. As City Manager Jukka-Pekka Ujula told Helsinki Sanomat, he was in correspondence with the company that owns the arena and promised an active phase of expropriation in October. On the first of the month, Iltalehti quoted Ujula as saying: “If a normal sale does not take place in October, we will proceed to expropriate the property.”

In April 2022, immediately after Boris Rotenberg was placed on the EU sanctions list, the Finnish Foreign Ministry and the debt collection authority took custody of his two Ferrari 599 GTBs — worth 300,000 euros and registered to Roman Rotenberg — two boats worth 225,000 euros, and a trailer valued at 4,000 euros. Yle referred to the action as a seizure and reported that ownership of the assets had been transferred to local authorities.

In addition, in late May 2022, Boris Rotenberg's commercial real estate was taken from him — presumably his 63 apartments in Hanko. In the initial period after the sanctions were implemented, Rotenberg’s tenants were unable to pay their rent, and the local authorities decided to add their accumulated debts — roughly 70,000 euros — to the city budget. The apartments, which Rotenberg bought in the early 2000s, have become municipal property, with tenants still occupying some of them.

Crime and decay

Instead of attracting packed crowds and hosting some of the world's top tournaments, Finland's biggest arena, without proper maintenance, is gradually falling into disrepair.

Due to partial power outages, the facility faces an increased risk of floods caused by rising groundwater, and the lack of central heating will inevitably affect the condition of the building during cold spells.

On the night of Sep. 19, thieves broke into the arena through the roof. They took advantage of the fact that, due to unpaid utility bills, the complex is now running on a temporary power supply from a diesel generator. The electricity supply has been cut off since Sep. 2, and the current power scheme does not cover some of the safety features — like electric locks.

According to Helsinki Sanomat, the perpetrators moved freely around the stadium. However, according to media reports, only alcohol and a few collectibles were stolen.

Helsinki police confirmed to The Insider that an investigation was launched the day after the break-in and extra security measures were put in place. According to law enforcement authorities, the arena’s legally questionable status does not affect their work to protect the site.

Investigative journalist Jyri Hanninen is surprised that the city and national government are unable to find a solution:

“Most Finns don’t understand how it can take so much time to seize the arena. Bear in mind that the arena is located in a central logistical location in the capital area, and it’s owned by oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin, a much-hated war criminal.”

Hanninen believes that Timchenko and the Rotenbergs have no motivation to sell the arena — on the contrary, they can benefit from this conflict. If the deal is closed, they will not see the money anytime soon, while in the event of expropriation, they will be able to turn the process into a lengthy battle in court. “I see a possibility that the Russians are enjoying this situation. It causes harm and confusion to Finland, and since Russia considers Finland, a newly joined NATO member, to be a hostile power, the confusion suits the Kremlin,” he concludes.