The United States announced the blocking of the assets of "Russian oligarchs" for $ 500 million

Since February 2022, the United States has blocked the assets of Russian businessmen for $ 500 million, said the Deputy Attorney General of the country, Lisa Monaco.

“We have seized the assets of Russian oligarchs and others who support the Russian regime and evade US economic countermeasures worth more than $500 million,” she said.

She also said that Washington has indicted more than 30 individuals who are suspected of "sanction evasion, EXPORT control violations, money laundering and other crimes."

After the start of the Russian special operation, Western countries blocked both the assets of the state structures of the country and private individuals who were under sanctions. In June last year, the United States announced that it had blocked about $330 billion in Russian assets, of which about $300 were assets of the Central Bank. In July, the EU reported that the union managed to freeze Russian assets worth €207 billion, including assets of the Central Bank. More than €24.1 billion of blocked assets belong to the Russians and companies that fell under the sanctions .

Both in the US and in Europe it was assumed that the blocked assets in one form or another would be transferred to Ukraine. Washington has already announced that Kyiv will receive the confiscated assets of the Russian billionaire, the founder of the Tsargrad TV channel, Konstantin Malofeev, who is under sanctions (the value of the confiscated assets is $5.4 million).

The EU is still discussing how to help Ukraine using Russia's assets. As BLOOMBERG found out , the European Union came to the conclusion that they could not legally confiscate the frozen assets, and are going to resort to the temporary use of these funds. For example, the option of reinvesting this money and sending profits to Kyiv is being considered.

President Vladimir Putin compared the blocking of Russian assets to "theft" and noted that it "will not lead to good" those who allow themselves to implement such measures. His press secretary, Dmitry Peskov , said that such blockages are "a violation of international law and an encroachment on property, on state and private property - that is, in general, the foundations of the world economy."