France has seized three villas owned by Russian businessmen who have been targeted by sanctions. Two of the villas are on the Cote d’Azur and are owned by Oleg Deripaska and Musa Bazhaev, while the third is near Biarritz and is owned by Kirill Shamalov.
The real estate assets of sanctioned Russian businessmen have been confiscated in France, including three villas – two on the Cote d’Azur and one near Biarritz. These properties belong to Oleg Deripaska, the founder of UC Rusal, Musa Bazhaev, the chairman of Russian Platinum, and Kirill Shamalov, a shareholder of Sibur, according to Nice-Matin.
Deripaska’s villa is near St. Tropez, Bazhaev’s villa is near the commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and Shamalov’s villa is in the vicinity of Biarritz, as reported.
The French authorities have frozen over 40 properties linked to sanctioned Russian businessmen, including Roman Abramovich’s villa “Chateau de la Croix” in the French Riviera, as per The Wall Street Journal.
The Daily Mail disclosed that 33 properties owned by sanctioned Russian businessmen, valued at more than €25 billion, have been seized. These include residences, aircraft, yachts, and helicopters, with 12 of them allegedly belonging to Roman Abramovich. The publication also estimated Abramovich’s Riviera villa to be worth $120 million. Forbes USA reported the arrest of two hotels on the French Riviera owned by the wife of Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko.
The United States, the European Union, and other countries have imposed personal sanctions on Russian businessmen close to President Vladimir Putin in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The EU launched Operation Oscar on April 11 to locate Russian assets under sanctions, with the investigation being carried out by Europol, the European Agency for Justice Cooperation, and the EU Agency for the Security of External Borders Frontex.
The European Commission (EC) announced the freezing of Russian and Belarusian assets totaling €29.5 billion following sanctions related to a “special operation.” This includes art pieces valued at €6.7 billion. The US Treasury has initiated the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program, offering a reward of up to $5 million for assistance in arresting or confiscating the assets of the “kleptocracy.” Additionally, a specially created international REPO group, “Russian Elites, proxies and oligarchs,” is conducting an investigation into the assets and art collections of Russian billionaires.
