European states freeze Russian exile assets at prosecutor’s request

Several European states, France, Switzerland, Monaco and Ukraine have blocked assets of specific Russian expatriates, upon the request of the Russian Prosecutor General on Saturday, 31 April 2012

The blocked assets include those of Boris Berezovsky, the Russian oligarch living in England–and one of Vladimir Putin?s–most severe critics. Russia has convicted Berezovsky of tax fraud, embezzlement and money-laundering. France has frozen EUR 13 million of Berezovsky?s assets.

The total amount of allegedly illegally obtained assets, frozen last week, exceeds USD 320 million the Prosecutor’s office announced. Of these USD 300 million belonged to Yury Nikitin, who is accused of embezzeling USD 500 million from Russian state shipping company Sovkomflot.

Last year, in February 2011 France froze other assets belonging to Berezovsky coming to approximately USD 20 million, including yachts and other valuables.