Nearly $60 billion worth of sanctioned Russians’ assets blocked or frozen – REPO

Over the year since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, members of the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force have successfully blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of sanctioned Russians’ assets, the task force reported in a statement Thursday.

The joint statement was made following a virtual meeting of the group made up of representatives from the EU, U.K., U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Australia.

According to the statement, the REPO Task Force members “has leveraged extensive multilateral coordination to exert unprecedented pressure on sanctioned Russians,” tracking sanctioned Russian assets across the globe and heavily restricting sanctioned Russians from the international financial system.

Specifically, REPO members have, inter alia:

• Blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of sanctioned Russians’ assets in financial accounts and economic resources.
• Ensured that Russian Central Bank and Russian National Wealth Fund assets in their jurisdictions remain immobilized and cannot be used to support Russia’s war effort.
• Seized or frozen luxury real estate and other luxury assets owned, held, or controlled by sanctioned Russians, valued in billions of dollars.
• Seized, frozen, or detained yachts and other vessels owned, held, or controlled by sanctioned Russians and conducted asset tracing activities to identify, locate, freeze and seize their yachts, aircraft, and other property located around the globe.
• Worked to update or expand and implement REPO members’ respective legal frameworks that enable asset freezing, seizure, forfeiture, and/or disposal.

The statement emphasizes that, as Russia’s war of aggression continues, REPO members remain determined in their commitment to impose steep costs on Russia and will redouble efforts to hold Russia accountable for its unjust war.