A small European state seized 58 billion euros of Russian assets, and also blocked financial transactions with the Russian Federation for 191 billion euros.
During the year of a full-scale war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the Belgian Ministry of Finance froze Russian assets for 58 billion euros, which is the highest figure among the EU countries. This was announced by the head of the Belgian Ministry of Finance Vincent van Peteghem.
According to van Peteghem, the application of sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation in connection with its military aggression is a priority for Belgium.
“The war in Ukraine is going on longer than we all thought and feared. Therefore, strict adherence to economic sanctions against Russia remains extremely important,” the minister said.
The head of the Ministry of Finance noted that his department blocked Russian financial transactions for 191 billion euros. In general, financial restrictions from Belgium affected 1789 Russian companies or citizens who are on the black list.
Belgian finance minister calls for strict implementation of sanctions against Russia
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In addition, Belgian customs have stepped up import and export controls. Thus, during the year of a full-scale war against the Russian Federation and Belarus, 91,020 declarations and 7,925 containers were checked.
According to the Ministry of Finance, 19 official reports on violations of import and export have already been submitted to the prosecutor’s office, and 15 more are under preparation.
Earlier, on February 17, European Commission spokesman Didier Reynders said that as a result of sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation due to a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Union managed to freeze 21.5 billion euros of Russian assets.
On February 15, the press service of the Swiss Federal Council stated that the confiscation of frozen Russian assets to restore Ukraine is impossible. At the same time, the department believes that the Kremlin is obliged to pay compensation to Ukraine for the damage caused.
On February 24, the White House reported that the G7 countries had decided not to use the frozen Russian assets until the end of a full-scale war in Ukraine. It is specified that the G7 do not exclude the use of the assets of the Russian Federation for the future reconstruction of the critical infrastructure of Ukraine.
