BRUSSELS (Reuters] – The European Union has reported that about 23 billion euros ($24.5 trillion) in assets were frozen by the Russian Central Bank. This was revealed Wednesday by a senior EU official, revealing a figure which was higher than what had been expected.

Russia publicly stated that Western sanctions resulted in the global freezing of approximately $300 billion worth of assets by its central bank.

According to data that the European Commission collected from 27 EU countries, less than 10% of these assets are in the EU. Didier Reynders, EU Justice Commissioner, stated this at a press conference.

According to him, about 23 billion euro had been frozen within the EU by February’s war in Ukraine. This figure is far less than the US $100 billion.

Reynders also stated that about 10 million euros in physical assets were frozen across the EU by nations linked to oligarchs or officials who have ties to Russia.

He failed to explain the reason why Russia’s third largest economy attracted such few assets from its central bank.

Also, he declined to say whether every EU government had reported asset freezing.

Many EU countries have been conservative in enforcing EU sanctions. Some have even declined to say publicly if they have taken measures against Russia.

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