To mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a virtual meeting of the REPO Task Force (Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force) was held.

The REPO Task Force was set up at the initiative of the US to maximise and coordinate members' efforts to freeze Russian assets and confiscate them (where compatible with national systems) through the exchange of information and best operational practices.

Representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Justice, Interior, and Trade of the member countries (G7 countries, Canada and Australia) and the European Commission are members of the Task Force. In the European context, the Freeze and Seize task force has been set up with similar tasks. The meeting was an opportunity to take stock of the results achieved so far, the efforts to counter sanctions circumvention and to discuss the next steps. At the meeting, the US lead, proposed that the members of the REPO, issue and publish a joint statement outlining the results achieved so far in terms of freezing and seizing assets, where compatible with national legislation, the need to continue to deprive Russia of funds and economic resources, and the commitment to redouble efforts to counter the Russian efforts to undermine, circumvent, or evade REPO’s collective sanctions.

The statement also presents the 'Global Advisory on Russian Sanctions Evasion', a document that contains some of the most common schemes used by sanctioned entities to evade sanctions and concludes with recommendations addressed to the authorities and the private sector to prevent and counter such schemes.