£25bn Russian assets frozen by UK since start of Ukraine war, Treasury says
Statistics revealed the new total, which accounts for all assets that have been sanctioned by the UK since February 2022.
Some £25 billion worth of Russian assets have been frozen by the UK Government since the start of the Ukraine war, newly-released figures have revealed.
A report released by the Treasury on Friday revealed the total, which accounts for all assets that have been sanctioned by the UK since February 2022 when the invasion of Ukraine began.
Some 2,001 individuals and entities have been sanctioned under the regime as of March 2024, according to the Treasury.
The Government department was keen to stress the impact its sanctions, as well as those of the UK’s allies, were having on Russia’s economy.
Treasury minister Emma Hardy said: “The UK has frozen £25 billion worth of Russian assets and working with our allies, we have deprived Russian of over 400 billion US dollars, the equivalent to four years of Russia’s military spending.
“We will continue to robustly enforce our financial sanctions as part of our wider response to Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.”
The Treasury data comes from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s (OFSI) latest annual review.
Alongside tallying the total worth of sanctions, OFSI’s review said it has taken steps to “effectively drive compliance of UK financial sanctions” over the past year.
It has also expanded sanctions enforcement in a bid to prevent illicit finances from slipping through the net.
While figures connected to Vladimir Putin’s regime have been prevented from accessing their cash and property by the sanctions, the UK and other Western nations are yet take control of assets.
The seizure of assets has long been discussed as a means of paying for military aid to Ukraine, as well as rebuilding the war-torn country once fighting ceases.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said “emergency legislation needs to be tabled so that the Government can seize these billions and use them to support Ukraine”.
Sir Ed said: “More Ukrainians are being killed every day as Putin’s barbaric invasion continues. To stand idly by and not use these assets to support them in their struggle would be a shocking dereliction of duty.”
Labour MP Phil Brickell, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, urged ministers to “aggressively” pursue anyone who breaches sanctions.
The MP, who is also a member of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said: “Sanctions are an important tool for pursuing our foreign policy goals around the world, whether that’s upholding the rule of law, cracking down on human rights abusers or putting pressure on Putin and his cronies to end their barbaric war in Ukraine.
“But no one is afraid of paper tigers. We must aggressively pursue any and all sanctions breaches to show the world that we mean business, and the relevant agencies must be adequately resourced to do so.”
