Sanctions against Putin’s environment
German banks freeze 95.5 million euros
03/30/2022, 12:36 p.m
Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, the EU has been hitting Russian oligarchs with punitive measures. The sanctions are aimed at those close to Kremlin chief Putin. In Germany, the frozen sum amounts to a good 95 million euros. The government does not want to give more details – it warns of risks.
According to the federal government, the sanctions against Russia have so far frozen around 95.5 million euros in funds. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Finance to Left-wing MP Pascal Meiser. Accordingly, this sum was reported by domestic credit institutions to the Deutsche Bundesbank.
For the first time since the start of the Ukraine war, the federal government published a summary of the consequences of sanctions in Germany. At the end of February, the EU decided on punitive measures against Russian oligarchs and other people associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Deputy Meiser also asked for the “total number of people, organizations and institutions” affected by the sanctions, as well as a list of those sanctioned with the frozen sums. The ministry did not want to publish this information.
“Further details, including operational findings, cannot be disclosed,” wrote the responsible Parliamentary State Secretary Florian Toncar to Meiser. “After careful consideration, the federal government has come to the conclusion that the requested information is in such need of protection that even a slight risk of disclosure in view of the potential damage cannot be accepted.”
A deposit of the information in the secret protection agency of the Bundestag is also ruled out, it said. “Because if the requested information and information became known, the success of the sanctions decided within the European framework would be specifically endangered. In particular, those affected could withdraw their assets from the sanctions regulations.”