LOC15:23
12:23 GMT
BRUSSELS, Aug 2 (KUNA) -- Belgium has frozen 50.5 billion euros (USD 51.6 billion) worth of funds belonging to people, companies and other legal persons who had financial sanctions imposed on them after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The more than 50 billion euros that Belgium has frozen is a surprisingly high amount. Three weeks ago, EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders announced that in the entire European Union at that time, 13.8 billion euros (USD 14.1 billion) in assets were frozen, Belgian news agency, Belga, reported Tuesday.
The 50.5 billion euros in frozen funds include all kinds of financial assets such as money and shares, which are located in Belgium and belong to the 1,229 people and 110 other entities - such as Russian politicians, oligarchs, banks and companies - that were subject to EU financial sanctions, it noted.
Some of these sanctions have been in place since Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014, but the majority were introduced after the invasion of Ukraine in February.
In addition, Belgium as an important international financial hub, with institutions such as the securities giant Euroclear in Brussels, has blocked 217.1 billion euros (USD 222 billion) in transactions, noted Belga. (end)
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