News of the World

[kyonides]

Cayman freezes US$7.3 billion of Russian assets

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, more than 800 asset freeze designations of individuals and entities have been enforced in the Cayman Islands, officials said in a release about the creation of a task force to coordinate the new sanctions regime.

In compliance with their obligations under the Russia (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2020, numerous financial service providers (FSPs) have submitted over 400 compliance reporting forms confirming that assets with an estimated value of US$7.3 billion have been frozen.

The government has created a joint task force to deal with policy amendments required to implement the Russia Sanctions here. The sanctions impact multiple public sector agencies, and this cross-government team is part of Cayman’s pro-active response, officials said. The goal is to provide a central point around policy and communication.

OK, the Western world needs to dissuade Russia from escalating the conflicting to a world war. Still, is it not a robbery to freeze the Russian citizens' assets the way they did it in Cayman Islands? I don't care about Lavrov or Putin but why should they target civilians as well?

At the same time we know that Russia's economy is some sort of stakeholder capitalism where the Kremlin has close ties to the local billionaires. Therefore the line that divides the State and corporations is quite blurred.