EU can freeze Russian assets held by trusts, court rules

AMSTERDAM, May 21 (Reuters) - ‌The European Union ​can ​freeze assets linked to Russians sanctioned over the war in Ukraine, even if those assets ‌are held by a trust and there is ⁠no direct legal link to the persons involved, the EU's Court ‌of Justice ruled on ‌Thursday.

• The court said assets can also be frozen if they are only indirectly linked to the person ​on the sanctions list.

• Concepts of ownership and control should encompass "all forms of power or influence exercised ⁠over assets", it said, even if there was no legal link between them ​and the person concerned.

• It said this served the purpose of the freezing of funds, ​meant to limit "as much as ‌possible" any transactions that may be carried out with them.

• Any circumvention of sanctions should ⁠also be prevented, it added.

• The EU court ruling related to three cases brought by an Italian court.

• These dealt ⁠with the seizure by Italian authorities of companies and a yacht ​held through complex ownership structures by trusts, but seen to be owned by Russians on the EU's sanctions list.

• The companies ‌had challenged the freezing of those assets, as they said the sanctioned persons had no ‌power over them.

• The EU court dismissed their claim, ⁠and said indications of ‌ownership or control ​could also be inferred from circumstances or from "needlessly complex legal structures".

(Reporting by Bart MeijerEditing by Gareth ‌Jones)

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