Frozen Russian assets held by Dutch banks and other financial institutions amount to just under €100 million instead of €660 million as reported in January, foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp has told MPs in a briefing.

The amount of €660 million included all the Russian assets that had been immobilised at the start of the invasion of Ukraine but assets that have since been released were not taken into account, the minister said.

The ministry allowed over €430 million Russian assets to be released to allow payment of outstanding bills by two big Russian companies to firms that are not on the sanctions list and “to distance sanctioned owners”, Veldkamp said.

Financial institutions such as banks, investment companies and trust companies have a duty to report asset freezing but are not under an obligation to report a decision to release the assets.

The cabinet is currently working on a rule to make reporting the release of assets obligatory as part of the EU sanctions package against Russia, the minister said. This would provide a better insight into the actual amount.

In July the European Commission’s decision to use the proceeds of the frozen assets to support defensive efforts in Ukraine led to a €1.5 billion donation. An estimated €210 billion in Russian assets are currently being held in EU countries.