MTV3: Kremlin adviser behind Russian property deals in Saarijärvi

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The commercial television network MTV3 reported on Wednesday that certain politicians of the Moscow Kremlin are backing up the St. Petersburg-based businessman and investor Denis Fokin, who is conducting business negotiations relating to some properties in Central Finland.
      The programme 45 minuuttia (”45 Minutes”) named as one of the supporters Leonid Reiman, the former Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of the Russian Federation. Currently, Reiman is acting as President Dmitri Medvedev’s adviser.
     
The programme threw the spotlight on Fokin’s prospective land acquisitions in Saarijärvi, in Central Finland.
      Fokin is negotiating with the city of Saarijärvi through his Finnish agents. So far, he has already acquired 15 hectares of land, including some buildings, for EUR 2.1 million.
      Sales Director Kimmo Ojanen from the real estate agency Huoneistopiste Oy and Project Manager Tino Haapoja from Silta Solutions Oy were introduced as Fokin’s representatives.
     
The city and Fokin are negotiating a contract involving a property of more than 70 hectares.
      The buyer candidate has not put an actual purchase offer on the table as yet, but he has announced that he intends to build more than 300 luxury holiday villas and a golf course in the Ahvenlampi camping area in the course of a few years. He also plans to renovate the existing buildings.
     
Saarijärvi Mayor Janne Kinnunen gave the plan a cautious welcome, saying that projects worth more than EUR 100 million are interesting.
      He noted further that if the plans ever materialise, the city’s property tax receipts would rise by several hundreds of thousands of euros.
      ”According to the initial calculations, the project would create dozens of jobs for residents and bring tax revenues to the city”, Kinnunen estimated.
     
The residents in the neighbourhood of Ahvenlampi are bewildered by the project, the TV programme reported.
      They have felt uncertain about whether or not the promised projects will ever be carried out, asking why the land areas cannot be leased instead of selling them.
      Kinnunen explained that selling land is one of the steps to be taken in order to balance the financial situation and the basic services of the city.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Russian investors´ eagerness to invest in Finnish property is losing steam (17.11.2008)

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