France announced today it was freezing for six months the assets of pro-Kremlin Russian commentator Xenia Fedorova, who is already subject to an expulsion order.
The decree published on today immediately freezes her assets, citing a legal mechanism “aimed at preventing the commission of acts of interference” which could be renewed, the French finance ministry specified.
“The direct or indirect provision of, or use of, funds or economic resources for the benefit of this person and any legal entities or other entities that she controls, owns, or that knowingly act on her behalf or at her direction is prohibited for a period of six months,” the decree states.
When questioned by AFP, Xenia Fedorova’s attorney denounced the measure as “manifestly illegal” and a form of “persecution.”
Fedorova, who works for a conservative French billionaire’s media empire, was ordered by the interior ministry on Wednesday to leave the country, following accusations she was relaying Kremlin propaganda on French television.
