Timberlake, Cyrus gigs in Finland avoid U.S. sanctions snag

[April 07, 2014]  HELSINKI (Reuters) — American pop stars Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake can go ahead with shows in Finland despite U.S. sanctions against the Helsinki venue's Russian owners, the concerts' promoter said on Monday.

The concerts were at risk last week as the Hartwall Arena venue is owned by Gennady Timchenko and Boris and Arkady Rotenberg, all of whom feature in a list of visa bans and asset freezes imposed by the United States following Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

The concert promoter said U.S. officials had indicated at the weekend that the sanctions would not prevent the concerts going ahead.

"The sanctions will not have an impact on Hartwall Arena nor our business there," Nina Castren, the chief executive of Live Nation Finland, told Reuters.

Timberlake has a sold-out Helsinki concert scheduled in May, while Cyrus is due to perform at the arena, which is Finland's biggest entertainment venue, in June.

(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; editing by Michael Roddy and Angus MacSwan)

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