‘Freeze and Seize Task Force’: Almost €30 billion of assets of Russian and Belarussian oligarchs and entities frozen by the EU so far

The Task Force, set up by the Commission last month, has been meeting on a regular basis to ensure better coordination of the enforcement of EU sanctions against Russian and Belarusian individuals and companies. One of the aims of the Task Force is to explore the links between assets belonging to persons listed under EU sanctions and criminal activities. In this context, the Task Force requested all Member States to share information on the assets frozen so far in their respective jurisdictions. While work is ongoing and Member States are still in the process of compiling and sharing the information, so far, more than half of the Member States have reported to the Commission the measures taken to freeze assets. They informed about frozen assets worth €29.5 billion, including assets such as boats, helicopters, real estate and artwork, worth almost €6.7 billion. In addition, about €196 billion of transactions have been blocked. The Task Force will continue to meet regularly, the next meeting will take place on Friday 22 April 2022. The full press release is available online.