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When it comes to freezing Russian assets, some EU countries are moving faster than others.
According to recent data, Belgium leads the pack with €3.5 billion in assets from sanctioned Russians frozen , followed by Luxembourg with approximately €2.5 billion.
According to The Irish Times, Italy ($2.3 billion), Germany ($2.2 billion), Austria ($1.8 billion), Ireland ($1.8 billion), France ($1.3 billion), and Spain ($1 billion) are the top performers in the EU.
About 90% of the total €17.73BN in assets that have been frozen within the EU are represented by these numbers.
A significant gap exists between various EU countries, with Hungary freezing a pitiful €3,000 worth of assets within the same time period.
Due to their connections to the Kremlin as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, 116 companies and 1,239 individuals have had their assets frozen in the bloc.
The media site notes that because blocked transactions, which previously inflated numbers, are no longer included in the count, some totals differ from those previously published.
According to Didier Reynders, the EU's justice commissioner, the EU is currently looking to seize such assets and transfer them to Ukraine.
According to Commissioner Reynders, the Commission intends to introduce a directive that would allow "not only freezing of assets, but confiscation," and which would add the evasion of sanctions to the present list of "EU crimes."
The Commission was prepared to "go as fast as possible to the enforcement," Mr. Reynders continued.
The EU would be allowed to seize assets whenever a conviction is obtained and would apply to the transfer of ownership of assets if sanctions evasion were included to the list of "EU crimes."
"If it’s possible to confiscate it will be also possible to give the money back to the Ukrainian people," stated Commissioner Reynders. "And that’s what we are trying to do."
By fLEXI tEAM