Funds on deposits of Russians close to the Russian government in French banks may be seized, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said at a briefing.
“We will also identify all Russian citizens who have deposits in France, who may be additionally included in the European sanctions lists due to their proximity to the Russian authorities. We will resort to legal measures to seize this property,” he said (quoted by TASS).
Le Maire added that French President Emmanuel Macron ordered to continue compiling a list of property and assets of Russians under sanctions. This includes yachts and luxury cars, the minister added.
The head of the French department recalled that last night the EU “froze” “all assets” of the Russian Central Bank. Tomorrow, the finance ministers of the G7 countries (Great Britain, Germany, Italy, USA, France, Japan, Canada) will discuss the issue of disconnecting Russian banks from the SWIFT international interbank system.
Western countries are imposing sanctions on Russia against the backdrop of the country’s military operation in the Donbass and Ukraine, launched on February 24 by decision of President Vladimir Putin. In particular, the US and the EU froze part of the international reserves of the Central Bank, imposed an embargo on the supply of products from a number of industries, and also imposed sanctions on banks and a number of state-owned companies.
The US, EU, Canada and the UK have imposed personal sanctions against Putin. American and European sanctions have been extended to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a number of other officials and businessmen.
On February 23, the EU announced the imposition of sanctions against 351 State Duma deputies who on February 15 voted in favor of an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR). Brussels then warned that restrictive measures would be extended to 27 organizations and high-ranking individuals who “played a role in undermining or creating a threat to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”