Austria freezes 254 million euros of Russian oligarchs due to EU sanctions, DW reports.

The funds were placed in 97 accounts, the office of the Austrian chancellor said.. The Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence also discovered five entries in the land register, which, according to the office of the chancellor, apparently served to hide assets.

The investigation is significantly complicated by the presence of established international structures, trust companies and nominees, the report says.. " “With these measures, we hit the oligarchs right where it hurts: their money.”.

Frozen sums, however, do not amaze with the number of zeros. In the apt expression of Financial Times author Sam Jones, which he expressed in relation to the 6.5 billion euros of funds of Russian oligarchs frozen in Swiss banks, this is a trifle that strums in their pockets..

[see_also ids\u003d"