Czech Republic freezes over $378m of Russian assets
The Czech Republic has frozen Russian assets worth more than UAH 14 billion (USD 378.12 million), its ambassador to Ukraine Radek Matula said.
- Subscribe to LIGA.net in English on Twitter
At a meeting with the head of the Ukrainian asset recovery and management agency (ARMA), Olena Duma, Mr Matula said Czech law enforcement was "actively monitoring information on Russian citizens subject to sanctions".
"In total, the Czech Republic has frozen assets worth more than UAH 14 billion," he was quoted as saying.
During the meeting, Mr Matula and Ms Duma also discussed plans and prospects for future cooperation, in particular by establishing a new level of cooperation between the Ukrainian and Czech agencies in terms of asset tracing and management.
Ukraine has long been calling for an estimated USD 300 billion frozen Russian assets to be confiscated and allocated for reconstruction purposes. Most Western partners are, however, reluctant to do so, citing legal obstacles relating to confiscation of private property.
Some countries, still, have adopted makeshift mechanisms allowing for confiscating some Russian sanctions-related assets as part of criminal proceedings.
