"We blocked 300 billion euros of reserves of the Central Bank of Russia and froze 19 billion euros of money of Russian oligarchs," said Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission.
According to him, in the near future, the EU and its partners may undertake the management and channeling of these funds as investments. The proceeds will be sent to compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine.
"To implement this, we are working on an international agreement with our partners. Together we can find legal ways to do this," said von der Leyen.
He noted that the European Union, with the support of the United Nations, proposes to create a specialized court to investigate the crimes of Russian aggression and punish the perpetrators.
Earlier, the Council of the European Union unanimously approved the inclusion of violations of sanctions measures in the list of crimes against the European Union.
The Council of the European Union said the next step would be a proposal by the European Commission for a directive defining crimes related to the evasion of sanctions and penalties. It will then be discussed by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
Since the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the European Union has introduced eight sanctions packages. They include restrictions on Russian banks and businessmen, a ban on the import of Russian coal, an oil embargo, export restrictions, and others.
Last week, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the work on the ninth set of sanctions is in full swing. According to Politico, the main measure within the ninth package may be to expand the list of persons subject to EU sanctions.
