Belgium froze Russian assets totaling €58 billion, Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem said.
“The Ministry of Finance has frozen Russian assets for €58 billion. This is the highest figure among all European member states. In addition, Russian financial transactions worth € 191 billion were blocked. In total, these measures concern 1,789 Russian companies or citizens who are on the black list, says website of the departments.
The department noted that 529 containers intended for delivery to Russia and Belarus are currently blocked. Also in Belgium there are 1087 cars that were banned from being imported into Russia.
On the same day, the White House announced that the G7 countries intend to keep Russian sovereign assets frozen until the conflict in Ukraine is resolved.
On February 16, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that Moscow would take the necessary measures to protect the interests of the country if the European Union (EU) confiscates Russian assets in favor of Ukraine. At the same time, he stressed that the confiscation of Russian assets is absolutely illegal.
The day before, Daphne Rand, director of the US State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance, said that the United States would continue to seize Russian assets and was already planning how to use them to help Ukraine.
On the same day, the Swiss Ministry of Justice and Police stated that the confiscation of private Russian assets would be contrary to the State Constitution and the current legal order. This was confirmed by lawyers from the working group of the Federal Council of the country.
In turn, Alexei Chepa, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, expressed the opinion that the West wants to expropriate the assets of the Russian Federation, and not transfer them to Kyiv. According to him, 10 years ago he heard a similar proposal, then in Europe they wanted to appropriate the funds of Russian and Chinese entrepreneurs.
Prior to that, on February 13, the Russian ambassador in London, Andrey Kelin, said that the UK also plans to confiscate the assets of the Russian Federation and is preparing a legislative framework for this.
Western countries have begun to tighten sanctions in response to Russia’s conduct of a special operation in the Donbass. Soon the European Union approved the decision to freeze the assets of the Central Bank. Moscow noted that the seizure of Russian funds is comparable to theft.
