PRAGUE, July 12 — The European Union has frozen Russian assets worth US$13.8 billion (RM61 billion) since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said today.

"For the moment, we have frozen — coming from oligarchs and other entities — €13.8 billion, so it’s quite huge,” Reynders told reporters in Prague.

"But I must say that a very large part of it is more than 12 billion... coming from five member states,” he added ahead of an informal meeting of EU justice ministers held by the Czech presidency of the EU.

He refused to name the five countries, but added he expected the other countries in the 27-member bloc to step up their efforts soon.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner put the value of assets frozen by Germany alone at 4.48 billion euros in mid-June.

At the end of June, an international sanctions task force said its members, including several EU countries, had blocked US$30 billion in assets belonging to Russian oligarchs and officials.

The Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force (REPO) said its members, who also include the US, Canada, Britain, Japan and other allies, had immobilised US$300 billion owned by the Russian central bank.

The EU has so far adopted six sanction packages against Russia, including a ban on most Russian oil imports approved in early June.

A total of 98 companies and 1,158 individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have seen their property frozen and been banned from entering the EU. — AFP