Ukraine seizes nearly $420 million in frozen assets linked with Russian oligarchs

Amid the brutal Russia Ukraine war in Eastern Europe, embattled Ukraine has recently seized nearly $420 million in frozen assets which have been linked with Russian oligarchs. According to the Kyiv Independent, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office and the nation's Bureau of Economic Security have confiscated “Hr 12.4 billion from Cypriot company accounts in Alfa-Bank whose Russian beneficiaries tried to circumvent sanctions.” 

Furthermore, this development came after Ukrainian Parliament had enacted a law that makes it easier to seize Russians' assets who are subject to other nations' sanctions. Earlier in the month of April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servent of the People party noted that the process for confiscating the assets of sanctioned Russians has been soothed by deputies as Ukraine's parliament, Verkhovna Rada, approved the bill No. 7194, which introduces a new method for sanctions against Russian citizens, as per media reports.  

In retaliation to Russia's war on Ukraine, the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, and other nations have sanctioned a number of Russian people. According to local media, the bill is designed to make it easier to take any assets, property, enterprises, and real estate possessed by Russian nationals who are subject to penalties and deliver them to Ukraine to aid the country's economy, pay conflict victims, and support the government. 

Sanctions against Russia

On May 4, the European Commission recommended the sixth package of Ukraine war sanctions, which included a restriction on Russian oil imports. As part of the sixth package of sanctions on Russia, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen ordered EU member nations to reduce crude oil imports over the next six months and refined goods imports by the end of the year. According to media reports, Hungary and Slovakia are unlikely to adopt sanctions against Russian fossil fuels, providing an obstacle to a unified EU response. 

Meanwhile, recently, Kremlin has warned that Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) might lead to a territorial clash between Russia and the bloc. According to a Sputnik report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, "Unlike Ukraine, Finland and Sweden have no territorial disputes with Russia." His remarks follow the official announcement by the two Scandinavian nations that they will join the intergovernmental military alliance. Russia will be observing the process attentively, the Kremlin spokesperson said, referring to Finland and Sweden's plans to join NATO. Peskov further warned that this move necessitates a thorough analysis of the consequences. 

(Image: AP)