The United States announced this Wednesday the creation of a working group with its allies in the European Union (EU) and other countries that will have as its objective Coordinate asset seizures of Russian oligarchs and attempt to prosecute those who evade sanctions on Moscow.
At the launch of the working group on Russian Elites, their Allies and Oligarchs (REPO), representatives USA, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, the European Commission, Australia, Canada and Japan.
Those in charge of the matter are the Ministers of Finance and of Justice or Interior of each country, who they talked by videoconference with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and US Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to an official statement.
“This multilateral task force will further increase the costs (to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine), by channel coordinated efforts to freeze and seize the assets of these individuals in jurisdictions around the world,” Yellen said in the statement.
The United States had already created its own internal working group to investigate and prosecute officials and Russian oligarchs violating its sanctions, and other countries, such as the United Kingdom, launched similar initiatives.
The US domestic group is made up of experts in sanctions, money laundering, taxation and anti-corruptionand can result in the seizure of yachts, private planes or luxury apartments owned by those around the Kremlin.
The authorities of Spain, France or Italy have already immobilized several yachts and other properties in recent weeks allegedly belonging to Russian figures affected by the sanctions imposed by the EUwhich provide for the freezing of all property and financial assets of those sanctioned.
The new multilateral working group will seek to coordinate the implementation of all sanctions on Russia, and help other countries to “locate and freeze assets in their jurisdictions”said the US statement.
The participants in the video conference on Wednesday also agreed to “preserve the evidence and determine whether the frozen assets, or other properties linked to the sanctioned individuals or entities, may be seized.”
Lastly, they discussed “ways to bring to justice those who have facilitated the movement of sanctioned assets or other illicit funds,” according to the official note. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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