The European Union has frozen €17 billion of Russian assets as part of sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, EU Justice Commissioner, Didier Reynders said.
“So far, the assets of 90 people have been frozen, amounting to more than €17 billion in seven member states, including €2.2 billion in Germany.”
The EU has adopted eight sets of sanctions against Russia since the war began eight months ago. “We are assessing what more we can do,” Reynders said.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called for those frozen assets to be used to rebuild their country after the war.
“If it is criminal money confiscated by the EU, it is possible to transfer it to a compensation fund for Ukraine. However, this amount is far from sufficient to finance reconstruction.”
In addition, three hundred billion euros of Russian Central Bank reserves have also been frozen. “I think it is possible to keep these €300 billion as a deposit until Russia voluntarily contributes to the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Reynders added.