EU to force banks to reveal Russian assets – Bloomberg

The European Union plans to order its banks to provide information about Russian assets as part of the next package of Ukraine-related sanctions against Moscow, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing draft proposals.

According to the news agency, European banks would be required to report on frozen funds that belong to the Central Bank of Russia and those linked to sanctioned Russian companies and individuals. Banks that fail to disclose information will reportedly face fines of up to €50,000 ($53,500) for individuals and 10% of annual turnover for entities.

The move is seen as the first step in efforts to seize the funds in question for the reconstruction of Ukraine, despite the EU currently having no legal capability to do so.

Brussels has thus far adopted nine sanctions packages against Russia, targeting numerous sectors of the economy, as well as businessmen, politicians, and journalists. The tenth set of sanctions will reportedly include more Russian lenders, adding Alfa Bank, Rosbank, and Tinkoff Bank to the EU blacklist. It will also ban Russian residents from holding posts in the governing bodies of critical European companies, and restrict the provision of gas storage capacity to entities established in Russia.

Brussels plans to adopt the tenth sanctions package next week. As with previous measures, it will need the backing of all EU member states to be adopted.

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