‘The Netherlands is not effective in detecting Russian real estate’

How do the sanctions work?

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has put more than 800 prominent Russians on its sanctions list. The idea behind that is to hit Russian politicians, oligarchs and other Putin stalwarts in their wallets.

Bank deposits at European banks are frozen, superyachts are detained in European ports and properties are seized. The latter means that the owner cannot (temporarily) generate income with it. Property cannot simply be taken away.

The Dutch government takes action after reports from involved parties such as banks, trust offices, but also notaries or brokers. But these professions do not have to report retroactively. A broker or notary therefore only knocks on the door if a Russian who falls under the sanctions now tries to buy or sell a property. Transactions in the past thus remain out of sight and that makes enforcement more difficult by the government.

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