Helsinki authorities are preparing for the process of expropriation of the Helsinki Hall arena, owned by Russian businessmen, the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

"The leading politicians of the city will gather on Thursday morning for an extraordinary meeting of the city council to discuss the situation. According to Helsingin Sanomat, it is expected that the process of buying the arena will be launched at the meeting on Thursday," the newspaper writes.

According to the newspaper, this measure precedes expropriation, during which the city authorities will announce to the Russian owners their intention to buy Helsinki Hall.

Previously, it was expected that the voluntary sale deal would take place on February 28, but it was postponed indefinitely. The city authorities have set a deadline for the owners of the arena to sell it. According to the publication, this period is already coming to an end, which means that the authorities will begin the process of expropriation.
According to Finnish media, the arena belongs to Russian businessmen Roman Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko, who are under EU sanctions.