Page 5 - aruba-today-20220527

A5
WORLD NEWS Friday 27 May 2022
West mulls having Russian oligarchs buy way out of sanctions

By ROB GILLIES and FRANK the Los Angeles Dodgers.
JORDANS Chelsea has been operat-
BERLIN (AP) — Western allies ing under a government li-
are considering whether to cense that expires on May
allow Russian oligarchs to 31 since Abramovich's as-
buy their way out of sanc- sets were frozen in March.
tions and using the money The EU has imposed asset
to rebuild Ukraine, accord- freezes and travel bans on
ing to government officials more than 1,000 people,
familiar with the matter. including over 30 oligarchs,
Canadian Deputy Prime in response to Russia's inva-
Minister and Finance Min- sion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
ister Chrystia Freeland pro- Almost 10 billion euros
posed the idea at a G-7 fi- ($10.7 billion) of assets
nance ministers' meeting in have so far been frozen by
Germany last week. EU countries, according to
Freeland raised the issue the European Commission.
after oligarchs spoke to It has established a "Freeze
her about it, one official and Seize" task force to co-
said. The Canadian minis- ordinate the enforcement
ter knows some Russian oli- of what are unprecedent-
garchs from her time as a ed EU penalties against
journalist in Moscow. Russia.
The official said the Ukraini- A 2017 study of Russian oli-
ans were aware of the dis- Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland speaks during an event to sign an update to garchs published by the
cussions. The official said it's the North American Free Trade Agreement, at the national palace in Mexico City, Dec. 10. 2019. U.S.-based National Eco-
also in the West's interests to Associated Press nomic Bureau estimated
have prominent oligarchs that as much as $800 billion
dissociate themselves from ing additional money to bar for confiscating frozen League soccer teams. is held by wealthy Russians
Russian President Vladimir Ukraine and how the fro- assets is very high. By vol- Former Chelsea owner Ro- in the United Kingdom, Swit-
Putin while at the same zen funds and assets of oli- untarily giving up a share man Abramovich, who was zerland, Cyprus and other
time providing funding for garchs could be a source of their fortune abroad, oli- sanctioned over his links to offshore banking centers.
Ukraine. of funds. garchs would save Western Putin, has said that net pro- That vast fortune, held by
"We would not be talking At this point, it is just an governments the poten- ceeds from the sale of the a few hundred ultra-rich
about this if there wasn't idea, the official said, but tial embarrassment of be- soccer team would be do- individuals, is roughly equal
some comfort on the part Western allies have ex- ing rebuffed by their own nated to victims of the war to the wealth of the rest of
of the Ukrainians," the offi- pressed interest. European courts. in Ukraine. A deal to sell the Russia's 144 million people.
cial said. "We need to know Union officials have talked Western countries have im- soccer club has dragged Some oligarchs have also
that it works for them, too." about the need to look at posed a raft of sanctions out as the British govern- obtained dual citizenship
The officials spoke on con- different and new avenues on oligarchs in response to ment makes sure that in Britain and other Western
dition of anonymity as they of confiscating assets and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich does not profit countries.
were not authorized to proving money to Ukraine. Many of their multibillion- from the enforced sale. The family fortunes of many
speak publicly about inter- The proposal could help dollar fortunes are inter- The British government this in Russia's billionaires date
nal G-7 discussions. remove a legal hurdle for twined with the West, from week approved the sale back to the 1990s, the tur-
The proposal was raised authorities in countries such investments in Silicon Valley of Chelsea to a consortium bulent decade after the
in the context of provid- as Germany, where the startups to British Premier fronted by a part-owner of fall of the Soviet Union. q

Moldova's ex-president placed under 30-day house arrest

Associated Press claimed the charges presidents of the Repub-
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — against him were politically lic of Moldova and those
A court in Moldova placed motivated and at the be- close to him, but also other
former President Igor hest of foreign powers. persons who have a con-
Dodon under 30-day house "It is a political issue aimed nection to the commission
arrest on Thursday as he at neutralizing the opposi- of the alleged acts."
faces an investigation into tion," Dodon said in a video Dodon has denied wrong-
suspected treason, corrup- published by Moldovan doing. In a post on Face-
tion, illicit enrichment and news site Protv.md. "It is book on Tuesday, he wrote
illegal party financing. strange and despicable for that he had explanations
The ruling came after those who ... filled all the for any allegations.
Dodon, who served as state institutions with for- "This is not the first time I
Moldova's president from eign, Romanian, American have become the target of
2016 to 2020 and leads the and German advisers, who a politically directed and
Eastern European coun- control all of the institutions, directed justice system," he Members of Moldova's Information and Security service (SIS)
try's pro-Russian opposition to accuse me of treason." wrote. escort former Moldovan President Igor Dodon to a van after he
bloc, was detained Tues- Following Dodon's deten- One of Europe's poorest was detained at his house in Chisinau, Moldova, May 24, 2022.
day at his home in the cap- tion, senior anti-corruption countries, Moldova is an ex- Associated Press
ital of Chisinau after it was prosecutor Elena Cazacov Soviet republic that gained
searched by investigators. said the subjects of the independence in 1991. — in the separatist Mol- backed breakaway state
Speaking as he left a court- police investigation were Russia maintains troops — dovan region of Transnis- that borders southwestern
room Thursday, Dodon "mainly one of the former nominally peacekeepers tria, a disputed, Russian- Ukraine.q