23 Nov 2022 15:48

Estonia freezes Russian assets worth tens of millions of euros - Estonian authorities

TALLINN. Nov 23 (Interfax) - Estonian authorities are discussing with the European Union the possibility of using the Russian property frozen for the benefit of Ukraine. Assets associated with Russia worth tens of millions of euros are frozen in the country.

"It is almost impossible to calculate the exact value of frozen assets. Assets frozen in credit and other financial institutions and bank accounts come to around 11.7 million euros. Assets kept in the Tax and Customs Board's prepayment accounts amount to approximately 8.4 million euros," Laura Aus, head of Estonia's Money Laundering Data Bureau's international sanctions and anti-terrorism funding arm, told ERR on Wednesday.

The value of the frozen assets is constantly changing, she said. For example, companies can use the frozen funds to cover expenses needed for safe storage of "frozen" goods such as chemicals. It is even more difficult to assess the total value of enterprises' assets, Aus said.

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board has conducted more than 35,000 inspections as part of monitoring the observance of the sanctions, which yielded almost 1,300 violations. For example, the violations concern attempts to take to Russia euros in cash (prohibited by the European Commission) expensive electronics, etc. Many goods are returned, but a lot of them are sitting in storage facilities or have been confiscated.

A decision on the use of the frozen Russian assets has not been made, but the West is again discussing whether some of these funds can be used to compensate for the damage done to Ukraine as a result of the military action, Estonian experts said.

Eerika Heldna, the head of the customs department of the Tax and Customs Board, said such decisions will in any case be made by Estonia jointly with the other EU states as the sanctions policies pursued by the Estonian state are part of the EU sanctions.