How many assets of banks in Germany have been frozen under sanctions against Russian companies and individuals? The federal government is now naming a number for the first time—what some people classify as “sobering.”

For the first time, the federal government has published a figure on how much money has so far been blocked in Germany in relation to sanctions against Russian companies and private individuals. According to this, domestic banks froze a total of 95,514,306.40 euros till March 21. This means that owners cannot access these funds and cannot make transfers or withdrawals, for example.

Philip Eckstein
ARD Capital Studio

first time notice

This number was increased by the Deutsche Bundesbank. The Federal Ministry of Finance informed a member of the left-wing Bundestag on the request. the answer lies with ARD Capital Studio Front.

It is the first time the federal government has provided information on frozen assets since the ban went into effect in late February. So far, the responsible ministries and the Bundesbank have not responded to inquiries in this regard. Even now, the reply says that further “details including operating findings cannot be disclosed.”

France says the amount of 850 million euros

In other countries, governments are sometimes more open about information regarding confiscated and frozen assets related to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. For example, French economics minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview a week ago that his country had already promised about 850 million euros. Of this, 150 million euros were deposited into accounts, with the remaining millions related to seized boats and impounded real estate.

Property worth millions of euros has also been confiscated in Italy. According to media reports, it should already be around ten billion in Belgium.

“rather serious”

In comparison, Germany has about 95 million euros “rather serious”, says Konrad Duffy from the independent interest group “Burgerbewegung Finnzweinde”. In any case, it can be assumed that Germany has more property of sanctioned persons than Russia.

At the same time, Duffy emphasized that the numbers only reflect what the banks reported. The real owners of yachts, real estate or works of art are often disguised as shell companies. He hopes that not only will there be “a number from the Bundesbank”, but that the federal government will soon be able to announce “further successes” with respect to such assets.

Left-wing members of the Bundestag Pascal Meisser wanted to know from the federal government how much the total wealth of sanctioned individuals and companies in Germany was. So the question refers not only to bank accounts, but also to real estate, cars or boats, for example. The deputy also wanted to know whether the same had already been frozen or confiscated.

Government does not want to give any details

The federal government does not want to publish any information on this, except for the numbers of the Bundesbank. Responding to the MPs, the Parliamentary Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance, Florian Toncar, said: “After careful consideration, the federal government has come to the conclusion that the information sought is in such a need of protection as to pose little risk of potential harm.” The fact of being known cannot be accepted.”

Even the “deposit of the requested information in the secret security agency of the German Bundestag” is out of the question, according to FDP politician Tonkar. If the information becomes known, “the success of sanctions measures decided within the European framework would be particularly at risk.”

Left politician Meiser is not convinced by this argument. As far as ARD Capital Studio He said that as a member of the Bundestag he needed to know more about the assets of individuals and companies accepted in Germany. “Either the federal government is rocking because it can’t disclose the information, or it’s withholding it because it can’t.” According to Meiser, the latter would be a disaster.

Task force so far without result

Since the ban came into force, there has been repeated criticism that, especially against sanctioned oligarchs in Germany, no decisions or actions have been taken quickly. This is probably why the federal government had to implement restrictions in mid-March. formation of task force, This working group has the task of coordinating the work of several ministries and officials involved in the implementation of sanctions in Germany. Originally, the federal chancellor was to play a central role.

Since then, according to information received from ARD Capital Studios Changed management several times. The federal government left questions about this unanswered. The Federal Ministry of Economics and the Federal Ministry of Finance are now responsible. Both the ministries had recently announced that the task force has started work, but no results have emerged so far.