Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the amount of interest that Russian designated persons have accrued on assets that have been frozen by the UK Government.

As published in the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI)’s 2022-2023 Annual Review, between February 2022 and October 2023, £22.7 billion in frozen funds were reported to OFSI, part of HM Treasury, in relation to the Russia sanctions regime. This figure is provided in aggregate so as not to disclose the value of any funds held by particular designated persons and is a cumulative total of assets reported.

An asset freeze does not involve a change in ownership of the frozen funds or economic resources, nor are they transferred to HM Treasury. Any interest accrued on these assets is subject to the asset freeze, to be frozen immediately by the person in possession or control of them. There is no obligation for a relevant institution to inform OFSI when it credits an account with interest and therefore OFSI does not hold this information.