Rusi claims he gained the information from a long-serving departmental head at the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (SUPO).
“He wanted to tell me just two weeks before his death that the name of Kalevi Sorsa was on the list,” said Rusi at his book launch on Tuesday.
However, the Secretary General of the Finnish parliament, Seppo Tiitinen, denied that Sorsa was on the list.
In 2003, SUPO investigated Rusi on suspicion of espionage on behalf of the Stasi between 1969 and 1976. No charges were brought in the absence of credible evidence. Rusi’s brother Jukka had, however, been in contact with the Stasi.
Rusi claimed SUPO had singled him out and challenged why the security agency had not investigated any of the 18 names on the now-infamous list. His assertion was backed by his friend, Olli Rehn, who currently serves as the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs.