Finland investigates suspected home intrusions targeting around 20 lawmakers
Finnish authorities are investigating suspected intrusions at the homes of around 20 lawmakers, including one case in which faeces were reportedly left in a toilet, amid concerns that the incidents could be part of a foreign intimidation campaign.
The incidents have been reported over roughly the past year, with lawmakers noticing signs suggesting that someone had entered their homes while they were away, according to Finnish officials and media reports.
Nothing was apparently stolen or damaged, and there were reportedly no clear signs of forced entry. Instead, small changes or objects appeared to have been deliberately left behind. In one case, a lawmaker reportedly found faeces left in a toilet.
Finnish Parliament Speaker Jussi Halla-aho said a “significant” number of suspected intrusions had been reported. Parliament is working with Helsinki police and Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation to determine the scale and nature of the incidents.
Senior National Coalition Party lawmaker Ben Zyskowicz suggested Russian intelligence could be responsible, describing the incidents as a possible attempt to demonstrate that politicians were being watched and to create fear and confusion.
Finnish authorities, however, have not identified those responsible or established a motive, and there has been no official finding linking Russia to the incidents.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has said it is possible that a foreign power was behind the suspected intrusions, while President Alexander Stubb described an attack on a lawmaker as “an attack on democracy.”
Similar home intrusions have previously been associated with intelligence operations intended not necessarily to steal information, but to make targets aware that their private spaces can be accessed. Russian and Soviet intelligence services have previously been accused of moving belongings, opening windows or deliberately leaving other signs of their presence in the homes of diplomats and journalists.
Former BBC Russia correspondent Sarah Rainsford described a similar intimidation tactic in her 2024 memoir, saying intruders had entered apartments and deliberately left toilets unflushed to signal that they had been inside.
The investigation comes months before Finland’s next parliamentary election and amid heightened concern across Europe over sabotage and other forms of foreign interference.