Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs has made an exceptional decision to allow the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to pay the overdue electricity bills of the Helsinki Halli arena.
The facility's management company, owned by a group of Russian oligarchs, has been unable to pay the electricity bill due to sanctions. The arena has been out of use since 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The exceptional permission was granted by the ministry's sanctions unit.
The unit's international law chief, Pia Sarivaara, informed news agency STT about the decision.
The Ice Hockey Association needed an exception permit in order to pay the late electricity bills, Sarivaara told STT that the ministry's approval of the payment is only a temporary solution to the situation.
"How a more permanent solution is achieved is another matter," Sarvivaara said.
The hockey association's offices are adjacent to the arena, but keeping the facility's lights on has been the responsibility of the management company.
On Monday, the hockey association confirmed that the management firm had asked for help in paying the bill.
Earlier this week, the arena's electricity and district heating were shut off after bills went unpaid. It was later reported that backup power at the facility had been restored.
