Finland has frozen Russian funds to compensate for Ukraine's lost assets in Crimea
Finland has frozen nearly 3.7 million euros in Russian funds as part of a case seeking compensation for damages caused to Ukraine’s Naftogaz following the 2014 occupation of Crimea.
These are funds that Russia had previously contributed as part of a cross-border cooperation program between the European Union and the Russian Federation.
The program was aimed at developing the border regions of the two countries.
After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the program was suspended, and the funds remained in Finland.
For the first time, Finnish authorities applied restrictions not to real estate, but directly to Russia’s financial assets. The freeze will remain in effect until a separate decision is made to lift it and prevents the return or transfer of these funds to Moscow.
The process was initiated by Naftogaz of Ukraine, together with its subsidiaries.
The basis for this was a decision by the international arbitration court in The Hague, issued in 2023. At that time, the court ordered Russia to pay over 4 billion euros in compensation for the illegal seizure of the Ukrainian company’s assets in occupied Crimea.
Since Russia refused to comply with the ruling voluntarily, Naftogaz initiated enforcement proceedings in countries where Russian assets were identified.
The Helsinki District Court has already ruled that the arbitration award can be enforced in Finland.
If the appellate courts uphold this decision, Russian assets frozen in Finland may be transferred to Naftogaz as part of the compensation for property lost in Crimea.
According to the Finnish side, Russian property and assets worth over 40 million euros have already been seized in the country since 2024.
The decision to freeze the funds marks another step in international efforts to enforce the collection of compensation from Russia for damages inflicted on Ukraine.
This was reported by the Finnish public broadcaster Yle.
Over 240 billion euros in private and state assets of the Russian Federation have been frozen in European countries. The European Union is currently working on a mechanism to use these funds to compensate for the damages inflicted on Ukraine.
Ukraine could receive the first billion euros in proceeds from frozen Russian assets as early as July of this year, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Frozen Russian assets should be used not only for reconstruction but also for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, said Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš.
