Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of the assets of sanctioned Russian nationals frozen in (a) the UK and (b) British Overseas Territories.

Relevant firms are legally obliged to report to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, if they hold frozen assets of a designated person or entity they suspect to be on the list of asset freeze targets.

The aggregate figure of funds reported as frozen under the Russia regime (as at October 2022) in OFSI’s Annual Review, published 10 November 2022 was approximately £18.39 billion. However, the Treasury does not break down the return data by category and/or institution in the manner requested.

The value of frozen funds in the UK can fluctuate for numerous reasons. These include changes to sanctions designations, changes in share or market values, or certain financial activity being licensed.

OFSI is not the competent authority for financial sanctions implementation in the Overseas Territories which are self-governing jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments, and which are responsible for their own financial services policy. UK sanctions apply in all Overseas Territories. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office work closely with the Territories on implementation of sanctions. The Territories have publicly reported frozen Russian assets with a combined estimated value in excess of US$9bn to date.