The Czech Republic has frozen all Russian assets and property on its territory. Moscow traditionally says all this is “illegal.”
The Czech Republic has frozen all Russian state assets located on the territory of this country. Thus, Prague expanded the list of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which was created in response to Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine. As you know, the Kremlin and Russian businessmen have an incredible love for real estate in the Czech Republic.
Resort “Karlovarsk”
In 2017, journalists conducted an extensive investigation and found out the owners of all real estate properties in the Czech resort town of Karlovy Vary. In particular, they analyzed eight thousand addresses in this locality.
To the investigators’ surprise, more than 50 percent of the owners came from the former USSR and 40 percent of the total number were citizens of the Russian Federation.
Most Russians buy houses and apartments in the tourist center of the city, that is, where the most expensive real estate is located. If you look at who among the owners the journalists found, there are politicians and businessmen associated with the Kremlin.
In addition, stories were revealed when Russian representatives hid their real estate. For example, the then deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory from United Russia did not indicate two apartments in Karlovy Vary in his declaration for many years.
Real estate owners in the Czech Republic also include Russians involved in criminal cases and even placed on the international wanted list.
Real Estate Freeze
On Wednesday, November 15, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipovsky announced that his country has frozen all Russian state assets and property on its territory.
“On my proposal, the government today approved the freezing of Russian state assets in the Czech Republic. This puts an end to the commercial activities used by Russia to finance the murders of Ukrainians,” the minister said.
Note that the sanctions do not apply to embassy facilities and diplomatic missions, of which there are four in the Czech Republic. In turn, the company State Foreign Property, controlled by the administration of the President of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the management of Russian assets abroad, fell under sanctions.
Accordingly, this company managed several real estate properties in the Czech Republic, so Prague banned any activity of the company, including renting houses and apartments.
“Its operating income directly funds the Putin regime,” the government said in a statement.
Later, the Czech Foreign Ministry added that Russian-owned real estate assets in the country are mainly located in Prague and Karlovy Vary. People and companies renting this property can continue to use it, but the rent will go into an account inaccessible to Russian authorities.
Kremlin reaction
Putin said today that the Czech Republic’s decision was “illegal” from the point of view of international law and that Moscow could retaliate for such a “hostile step”.
“All our facilities that we may own there, except for those with diplomatic status, are, of course, now under threat. The situation is now being analyzed to minimize the risks,” the Kremlin Spokesperson said Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a briefing.
“Such a deep anti-Russian position of the Czech authorities is, of course, completely surprising. We categorically reject such a position, which is unacceptable,” he added.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.