Ahti Vilppula

Ahti Vilppula
Ahti Vilppula
Born	1959 (age 63–64)
Nationality	Finnish
Occupation	Businessperson

Last updated September 28, 2023

Ahti Vilppula (born October 1959^[1] or 17 July 1959^[2]) is a Finnish businessman. Born in Finland, Vilppula lives abroad but has financial interests in his native country. Vilppula started export between the West and the then USSR in Spain. He moved to Brussels when the Soviet Union collapsed. Some companies with which Vilppula is involved have attracted the interest of financial regulators in Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.^[3]^{[ full citation needed ]}

Corporate positions

Ahti Vilppula was appointed as a director of Goldfields Holding Limited, a mining company,^[4] on 16 December 2019; he resigned on 13 May 2020.^[1] Vilppula was, however, also listed as a founding director of Goldfields Holding Limited in its initial filing.^[2]

Newspapers and banks buyout

In the 1980s, Vilppula with Kai Mäkelä bought large holdings in provincial newspapers. Vilppula bought with private investor Taito Tuunanen shares in the Union Bank of Finland (SYP, today after mergers Nordea) and insurance company Sampo Bank. They sold a quarter of Sampo stock holdings with a considerable profit.^[3]^{[ full citation needed ]}

Kazakhstan

Vilppula was the Director of International Operations of the Kazakhstan-based metals and gas giant Euro-Asian Group in 1997. In a few years, the company became a major name in the world of chromium and ferrochromium markets. Vilppula has had close and cordial contacts with a group of billionaires known as the "Kazakhstan Trio," who are suspected by the Belgian authorities of money laundering, counterfeit documents, and links to organized crime.^[3]^{[ full citation needed ]}

South Africa

Vilppula became a shareholder in the next port SA Chrome & Alloys in South Africa in 2001.^[3]^{[ full citation needed ]}

United States

Vilppula allegedly tried to buy the Pea Ridge Mine in Sullivan, Missouri, according to suit filings.^[5]

Elections

Vilppula owned the company Helsingin Mekaanikontalo and in 2007 paid €10,000 in parliamentary elections donations to the National Coalition Party (Eheän Suomen Tuki ry), and to Kymenlaakson Talousseura - in other words to ministers Paula Lehtomäki, Jyrki Katainen, and Jyri Häkämies. All of those who in receipt of campaign finance funding from Vilppula's company Mekaanikontalo became ministers in Prime Minister Vanhanen's government. The politicians were embarrassingly unaware of their largest backers.^[3] Kal Mäkelä and the Ruukki group also donated to support the Center and National Coalition Parties in 2007, and many of the candidates they supported ended up as ministers under Matti Vanhanen.^[6]

Lehtomäki, then the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development received €10,000 for the March 2007 elections from Ruukki Group and another 10,000 from Vilppula's Mekaanikontalo.^[3]^{[ full citation needed ]}

Ruukki Group has also been a major donor for elections.^{[ citation needed ]}

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre Party (Finland)</span> Agrarian political party in Finland

The Centre Party, officially the Centre Party of Finland, is an agrarian political party in Finland.

Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party and President of the European Council in 2006. In his earlier career, he was a journalist. Vanhanen is the son of professor Tatu Vanhanen and Anni Tiihonen.

Sampo Group is a significant Nordic insurance group made up of the parent company Sampo plc, P&C Insurance Holding Ltd, Mandatum Holding Ltd, Danish insurer Topdanmark and British P&C insurer Hastings, all of which are its subsidiaries. The parent company in Helsinki administers the subsidiaries. Sampo Group employs over 13,500 employees. Torbjörn Magnusson is the CEO of Sampo Group. Antti Mäkinen was elected as Chair of the Board of Sampo on 17 May 2023.

Danske Bank A/S is a Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation. Headquartered in Copenhagen, it is the largest bank in Denmark and a major retail bank in the northern European region with over 5 million retail customers. Danske Bank was number 454 on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2011. The largest shareholder is A.P. Moller Holding connected to the Maersk family.

The Karelian question or Karelian issue is a dispute in Finnish politics over whether to try to regain control over eastern Karelia and other territories ceded to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War. Despite the name "Karelian question", the term may refer also to the return of Petsamo, ceded parts of Salla and Kuusamo, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. Sometimes the phrase "debate on the return of the ceded territories" is used. The Karelian question remains a matter of public debate rather than a political issue.

The Toyota Group is a group of companies that have supplier, vendor and investment relationships with Toyota Industries and Toyota Motor vehicle manufacturing facilities. It is similar to a keiretsu in that no particular entity has outright control over the entire group, although unlike most keiretsu it does not contain a major bank.

Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish politician and former member of the Finnish Parliament who has represented the Seven Star Movement, the Citizen's Party and Centre Party. He is currently member of Centre Party. Väyrynen has been a member of the Finnish Parliament previously from 1970 to 1995, and again from 2007 to 2011 and has held many ministerial portfolios. He has also been a Member of the European Parliament from 1995 to 2007, and again from 2014 to 2018.

Presidential elections were held in Finland on 15 and 29 January 2006 which resulted in the re-election of Tarja Halonen as President of Finland for a second six-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Björn Wahlroos</span>

Björn Arne Christer "Nalle"Wahlroos is a Swedish-speaking Finn, best known as a banker, investor and the chairman of the Board in Sampo Group and UPM-Kymmene. Before switching to banking Wahlroos worked as a professor at the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, from which he also holds a Doctorate in Economics.

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 18 March 2007. Early voting was possible from the 7–13 March. The 200 members of the Eduskunta were elected from 15 constituencies.

Ahtium was a Finnish mining company that operated the Talvivaara nickel mine from the company's establishment in 2004 until the mining business was sold to the state-owned Terrafame in 2015.

Jan Pellervo Vapaavuori is a Finnish politician, the former Minister of Economic Affairs, and the former mayor of Helsinki. Vapaavuori was Minister of Housing and Minister of Nordic Cooperation in Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet and Mari Kiviniemi's cabinet. He was a candidate for the head of his party in the June 2014 election, and as part of that the likeliest interim Prime Minister of Finland. However he eventually failed to make the eventual head-to-head round within the Coalition Party, which saw Alexander Stubb defeat Paula Risikko.

Mari Johanna Kiviniemi is a Finnish politician, who served as the 41st and second female Prime Minister of Finland from 2010 to 2011.

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%.

The 2007 Finnish campaign finance scandal arose in the spring of 2008 due to campaign funding issues related to the 2007 elections for the Finnish Parliament held on 18 March 2007. The scandal involves mainly the campaign funding of National Coalition Party and Centre Party candidates. There were several related cases that were ongoing as of February 2012.

Sampo Terho is a Finnish politician who served as Minister for European Affairs, Culture and Sports. He is the chairman of Suomalaisuuden Liitto and was earlier a Member of the European Parliament.

The Social Democratic Party of Finland is a social democratic political party in Finland. It is the third largest party in the Parliament of Finland with 43 seats.

Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2018. The incumbent Sauli Niinistö received 62.7% of the vote and was elected for a second term, avoiding a second round. The term is from 1 March 2018 to 1 February 2024 (if 2024 presidential election doesn't go to a second ballot) or 1 March 2024. Although the President is elected by direct election, Niinistö gained a plurality in all municipalities and a majority in all but 13 municipalities.

The Finnish Reform Movement, previously known as Blue Reform, was a Finnish conservative political party.

Componenta is a contract manufacturer of cast and machined metal components, located in Finland. Its customers are typically global manufacturers of vehicles, machines and equipment. Componenta is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

References

1 2 "Ahti VILPPULA - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
1 2 "Certificate of Incorporation of a Private Limited Company, File Number 12009048" . Retrieved 16 Apr 2021.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Election financiers, Did the ministers and others know whose money they were getting? Helsingin Sanomat 18.5.2008
↑ "GOLDFIELDS HOLDING LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
↑ Garrison, Chad. "Lawsuit: "Notorious Overseas Oligarch" Trying To Buy Rare Earth Mine in Missouri". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
↑ "Paradise Papers: Finnish firm's owner's money flows "could tarnish the reputation of the whole stock exchange"". Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 2021-04-16.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[:0-1] 1 2 "Ahti VILPPULA - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-16.

[:1-2] 1 2 "Certificate of Incorporation of a Private Limited Company, File Number 12009048" . Retrieved 16 Apr 2021.

[HS52008-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Election financiers, Did the ministers and others know whose money they were getting? Helsingin Sanomat 18.5.2008

[4] "GOLDFIELDS HOLDING LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-16.

[5] Garrison, Chad. "Lawsuit: "Notorious Overseas Oligarch" Trying To Buy Rare Earth Mine in Missouri". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2021-04-16.

[6] "Paradise Papers: Finnish firm's owner's money flows "could tarnish the reputation of the whole stock exchange"". Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 2021-04-16.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]