Guest of the Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-LCI, Sunday March 20, the Minister of Economy and Finance indicated that 850 million euros in assets and property of oligarchs had been frozen by the Bercy task force , specially dedicated to tracking the heritage of Russian personalities targeted by European sanctions.
Deployed at the beginning of the month, following the invasion of Ukraine, this task force, which brings together skills from the General Directorate of Public Finances, Tracfin financial intelligence, the Treasury and Customs, has enabled the immobilization of “150 million euros of personal accounts in France, in French establishments », of « 539 million euros of real estate on French territory, corresponding to around thirty properties or apartments. And we have immobilized two yachts for 150 million euros”said Bruno the Mayor on Sunday.
The Ministry of the Economy had communicated at the beginning of the month on the seizure of one of these luxury boats – property of Igor Setchin, boss of the Russian oil group Rosneft – which had been confiscated by French Customs on the night of March 2 to 3 in La Ciotat while he was trying to get under way and leave the territory in an emergency.
€22bn from the Russian Central Bank tied up
To these 850 million euros of “frozen” assets – are added 22 billion euros of immobilized assets of the Russian Central Bank.
The freezing of Russian assets on European Union territory is one of four “packages” of sanctions adopted by the European Union in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
European list
The Bercy Task Force tracks assets and property potentially held in France from a list of several hundred names. At the beginning of the month, these sanctions concerned 510 people and entities – oligarchs or more discreet figures, such as elected members of the Duma – but the list must probably have grown.
Especially since the unit of the Ministry of the Economy is also responsible for completing the European list, by identifying Russian assets of all kinds on national territory to identify their owners and verify that they are not participating in the effort to Kremlin war.
The sanctions decided in Brussels consist of the freezing of property and assets, and not the seizure: bank accounts are blocked, no transfer, transfer or any other operation can be carried out – as for real estate, it cannot be sold, nor rented.
Theoretically, the enjoyment of these remains possible for their owners, ” but in practice, the overwhelming majority of targeted personalities are banned from French and European territories “, we explain to Bercy.