The process of confiscation of assets owned by supporters of Russian terrorism is going slowly in the European Union.
This process is slowed by legal uncertainty and the difficulties related to proving the existence of a link between sanctioned individuals or organisations and crimes committed by the Russian regime. To solve this problem, Latvian MEP Inese Vaidere, who represents the European People’s Party, has developed a research pilot project, which has already received half a million euros from EU’s budget for 2023.
«These funds will finance research of the most effective legal means of freezing and confiscating assets – deposits, apartments, yachts, valuables – owned by Kremlin officials and Russian oligarchs,» explains Vaidere.
This way it will be possible to use the assets worth billions of euros owned by sponsors of terrorism to restore Ukraine and support victims of war.
She hopes this pilot project will help improve the effectiveness of EU sanctions against other criminal individuals and structure, as well as deter other perpetrators from committing similar acts in the future.
Only a small number of pilot projects submitted by MEPs are found good enough to be provided with funding, stresses Vaidere, looking back at her previous pilot projects that helped resolve serious problems in Latvia – prevention of Russian fake news, prevention of unfair commercial practices in the EU Single market, reduction of the volume of good food products that end up in waste, simplified building renovation procedure.