Assets worth almost ten billion euros have been frozen in the European Union since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

They are luxury yachts, helicopters, paintings or investments - assets of oligarchs who have been sanctioned for supporting the war.

Is there a way to get hold of these values, possibly to use them for the reconstruction of Ukraine?

Actually the answer is: no.

The asset and travel bans that have now been imposed on more than 800 people and organizations are a political measure, but not a criminal offense.

The EU Commission believes that there could still be a way: if those affected try to circumvent sanctions.

Thomas Gutschker

Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.

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"We must ensure that individuals or companies who circumvent restrictive measures are held accountable," said Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders on Wednesday.

"Such an act is a crime that should be resolutely punished across the EU." So far, as Reynders pointed out, this is only the case in 12 Member States;

there penalties of between three and five years are provided.

In two other states, the authorities can impose fines.

That is why the Commission now wants to enshrine the criminal offense of violating sanctions in European law.

The EU Treaty allows this when it comes to particularly serious crimes with a cross-border character, which is punishable in most Member States.

This applies, for example, to organized crime, human trafficking and terrorism.

The political hurdle for such a step is of course high: the member states have to decide unanimously on it.

In the second step, the Commission can then make a concrete legislative proposal that defines the facts and minimum standards for criminal liability.

A qualified majority of states is sufficient for this.

Reynders also provided a sketch of such a guideline.

Accordingly, a violation of the obligation to provide national authorities with information about one's own assets would be punishable.

This applies all the more to attempts to circumvent asset freezes, for example by concealing ownership shares.

The Commission also wants to punish all supporters of such violations, be they banks, consultants or lawyers.

She also wants to set minimum penalties

300 billion euros from the Russian central bank are stored in the G7 countries

That goes very far – and can only be explained in the larger political context.

The Commission is currently campaigning for the states to raise hundreds of billions of euros for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

This is difficult to justify unless Russian assets are also used.

Some eastern states are already demanding that the Russian central bank's foreign assets invested in the G-7 states be confiscated, that would be around 300 billion euros.

However, Brussels has so far not found any lever that would be legally possible - states enjoy legal immunity.

However, private individuals are not, which is why they are now being targeted, even if the total assets are much smaller.