Finland confiscated the trademarks of Kalashnikov, Sberbank and RT

Finnish authorities have confiscated more than 40 Russian and Belarusian trademarks, including Sberbank, Kalashnikov and RT. The arrest was made as part of the application of EU sanctions to these companies . Russia calls sanctions illegal

The Finnish Debt Collection Authority has confiscated more than 40 trademarks of Russian and Belarusian legal entities subject to EU sanctions, ESS reports.

Among those under arrest are the logos and trademarks of ANO TV-Novosti (founder of Russia Today), Sberbank, and the Kalashnikov arms group. A Belarusian tobacco company, the controlling stake of which belongs to the state, was also arrested.

In addition, the authorities seized Yandex’s patent for a storage media protection system, although the company itself was not subject to restrictions, ESS notes.

Confiscation of trademarks means that their owners will not be able to use them in Finland. It was carried out as part of the application of EU economic sanctions to these companies.

RT told RIA Novosti that it had not received any official notifications from the Finnish authorities. “According to our information, in the trademark database of the World Intellectual Property Organization it is listed as protected in this country, among other things. Of course, if the information is confirmed in the future, we will use all legal means to challenge this,” the channel’s press service told the agency.

RBC contacted the press service of Sberbank and the press service of the Kalashnikov concern for comment.

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Finland, as a member of the European Union, joined all its sanctions against Russia after the start of the special operation in Ukraine . In January of this year, the Finnish Foreign Ministry reported on the freezing of Russian assets worth almost €200 million. Frozen assets include real estate , shares, cars, yachts and aircraft, the ministry said.

In addition, in October, Finnish Minister of Justice Lina Meri announced that the government was going to simplify the procedure for confiscating real estate from Russians. As reported by Yle, recently Russians “are increasingly neglecting their legal obligations” - they do not pay taxes and do not pay bills due to difficulties with payments abroad. According to the new law, it will be possible to carry out the seizure procedure electronically.

Russia considers Western sanctions illegal. Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova promised that if a law on simplifying the confiscation of real estate from Russians is adopted, Moscow will take retaliatory actions. According to her, Russian owners cannot pay taxes or come to the country to look after their property due to the actions of the Finnish authorities: in the summer, Finland tightened entry for Russians, including property owners, and in September banned entry into the country by car with Russian numbers.