Millions in municipal pension funds invested in Nova Group project

Municipal pension fund director attended Kesäranta meeting

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About EUR 20 million in pension savings for municipal employees was invested in a project of real estate development company Nova Group. The approval of the investment was put forward by Markku Kauppinen (Centre), CEO of the Local Government Pensions Institution (KEVA).
      Kauppinen’s links with Nova Group were put in a new light when it came out that he was also present at a discussion on raising funds for the Centre Party’s 2007 Parliamentary election campaign.
     
In December 2007 Kauppinen proposed at a meeting of the KEVA board that KEVA approve the purchase of a snowmobile factory that was being set up in Rovaniemi from a real estate development company that was a part of Nova Group.
      The board, whose members are chosen according to political mandates, approved the proposal.
     
News of Kauppinen’s role as a supporter of the project took on a new light early this week.
      On Monday it came out that Kauppinen was also present at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence in Kesäranta in 2007. The meeting was also attended by Nova Group executives Tapani Yli-Saunamäki and Arto Merisalo, as well as Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) himself, and Centre Party secretary Jarmo Korhonen. The men discussed the financing of the Centre Party’s Parliamentary election campaign.
      On Monday, Prime Minister Vanhanen said that Merisalo and Yli-Saunamäki “said that they hoped to collect EUR 200,000".
      At that time Kauppinen had worked for nearly two years in KEVA, but he was also very influential in the inner circle of the Centre Party.
     
Centre Party leaders rushed to declare on Tuesday that Kauppinen had nothing to do with election financing.
      Party secretary Korhonen said that Kauppinen attended the Kesäranta meting at his request.
      “When the discussion moved to the financing of political activities, Kauppinen immediately made it clear that the group that he represents (KEVA) cannot have anything to do with party or election financing”, Korhonen writes.
      According to Korhonen, Kauppinen was in Kesäranta “as a person who knows Finnish politics from a long period of time”.
     
Kauppinen also put out a statement, according to which Vanhanen and Korhonen asked him to Kesäranta for “afternoon coffee and to discuss current issues”.
      According to Kauppinen, the request for a discussion came from such a “high level” that he did not feel that he could refuse.
      “I also noted that the community that I represent (KEVA) cannot be involved in financing the activities of any party under any circumstances”, Kauppinen wrote.
      A year ago it came out that three members of the KEVA board, who had been candidates in the Parliamentary elections, had received money from Kehittyvien maakuntien Suomi (KMS) for their 2007 campaigns.
     
Two of the Parliamentary candidates receiving funding from KMS, were on the KEVA board when it made the decision to buy the snowmobile factory just over six months after receiving the campaign donations.
      Nova asked investors for tenders, and KEVA turned out the winner “out of three Finnish investors on the same line”, board member Merisalo explained.

More on this subject:
 BREAKING NEWS: Bankruptcy Ombudsman orders special audit of Nova Group

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Vanhanen expects detailed report from Centre Party secretary on 2007 election funding (15.6.2009)
  Centre Party silent about major contributor (12.6.2009)
  Centre Party gets extensive funding from business (16.6.2009)
  Prime Minister denies accusations of lying over campaign finance issue (17.6.2009)

See also:
  Prime Minister hounded by accusations of lying

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