Russian assets seized: Finland confiscates millions in Ukraine's oil and gas company case
Photo: a Naftogaz drilling rig at a gas field in Ukraine (naftogaz.com)
Finland has seized Russian assets as part of a case concerning compensation for Naftogaz property seized in occupied Crimea, Yle reports.
The Finnish Enforcement Authority has confiscated about €3.7 million from Russia. While previously mainly real estate was seized, this time it concerns funds.
According to the outlet, the confiscations are linked to a lawsuit filed by Naftogaz of Ukraine (a leading enterprise in Ukraine's fuel and energy complex) and its subsidiaries seeking compensation for assets that were illegally expropriated by Russia after the occupation of Crimea.
Where the funds came from
The approximately €3.7 million that were frozen originate from a cross-border cooperation program between the EU and Russia that operated before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia had already contributed its share of funding before 2022, but after the start of the full-scale invasion, the program was discontinued, and the money remained in Finland. These funds have now been seized.
Naftogaz case and the Hague ruling
Last week, it became known that the Helsinki District Court allowed the enforcement of a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which in 2023 ordered Russia to pay compensation to the Ukrainian company.
The ruling concerns more than €4 billion in compensation for Naftogaz assets lost after the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The company called the decision an important step toward receiving compensation for seized assets.
Since 2024, Finland has already seized more than €40 million in Russian assets. Russia is appealing the international arbitration ruling.
If it ultimately enters into force, the Russian assets seized in Finland could be transferred to Naftogaz as part of the compensation awarded by the international court.
In March 2026, the Naftogaz Group won another important victory against Russia’s Gazprom. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court dismissed Gazprom’s appeal and upheld an arbitration award ordering the Russian company to pay more than $1.4 billion to the Ukrainian side.
