Russian oligarchs: Is it really a confiscation? – Messages

When the sanctions list was published, the European Union criticized, among other things, Mordashov’s property in a bank that “The personal bank of senior officials of the Russian Federation“. Among other things, the institute has branches in the Ukrainian Crimea, annexed by Russia -“Thus, they strengthened their integration into the Russian Federation“.

Can the European Union simply confiscate a yacht?

Sanctions on people are not about property confiscation, it’s about asset freeze asset freeze). The Union, or more precisely the European Council, which is the body of all heads of state in the Union, is allowed to do so. Punishment is justified for each person individually, for the main shareholder of TUI, Mordashov, for example, these are his bank investments.

In addition, the benefits of Mordashov “From his connections with Russian decision-makers”. The Council adopts this regulation against individuals, and all member states are then required to enforce this statutory act. This is stipulated in the Treaty on the Action of the European Union.

The authorities in the member states are responsible for enforcing the sanctions. Banks in EU countries are obligated to freeze affected accounts themselves. Assets include not only accounts, but also stocks, land, homes, yachts, and aircraft.

The United States also wants to take strict measures to confiscate the property of Russians who are subject to sanctions. The White House announced Wednesday evening.Create a task force to identify, track and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs – their yachts, mansions and any other illegal profits we can find and freeze by law.“

As a non-EU country, Great Britain has its own sanctions list against the Russian oligarchy. The UK government operates in accordance withfinancial times“It is now working on other plans. As a result, it is a matter of expropriation without compensation, that is, the actual expropriation. However, the proposals must have a legal basis and can be challenged in court, the newspaper reported.

Can people defend themselves?

According to case law, the EU should provide this justification in order to give people the opportunity to comment and take legal action against the decision. According to a spokeswoman for his steel company, Mordashov is considering this option. Others on the sanctions list, such as Mikhail Friedman and Peter Aven, said they would oppose the measures.

And do sanctions on these billionaires achieve anything at all?

Even a billionaire can not afford to buy many luxury yachts that cost hundreds of millions of euros. “It sure hurts them”, suggests Russian researcher Elisbeth Schimpfössel of the London School of Economics.But what hurts them the most is that they can’t use the world freely anymoreSchimpfössel told WDR on Wednesday evening.

The past has shown that these punishments are particularly painful for oligarchs. “If a critical mass came together, Putin would not have the loyalty of an oligarchyresearcher said.

What other safe havens are there for oligarchs?

According to ship data, there are currently at least five superyachts belonging to Russian billionaires in the Maldives. The island nation located in the Indian Ocean does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. Ships arrived at the archipelago off the coast of Sri Lanka on February 24, after tough Western sanctions were imposed on Russia in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

Most of the ships were last seen moored in Middle Eastern ports earlier this year.

by the way…

It’s easy to see where the billionaires’ jets depend on Twitter. Roman Abramovich is arguably the most famous Russian oligarch. He founded Gazprom and is still the owner of the English football club Chelsea. On Wednesday, he announced that he wanted to sell it. And Abramovich still owns the LX-RAY. The private plane flew from Moscow to Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon and from there to Ankara on Wednesday.