The Russian government is drafting a new bill allowing the seizure of assets belonging to Western countries that have illegally seized Russian assets and funds - Izvestia reported on January 21, citing documents from the government's legal committee.
The draft proposes a detailed legal process, emphasizing that the targeted foreign assets will be transferred to Russian state ownership after a ruling from the arbitration court. The list of seized assets and funds will be compiled by the Russian Foreign Investment Commission.
In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree laying the foundation for the seizure of assets of US companies and individuals to compensate for Russian assets seized by the Washington administration.
If passed, the bill would target unfriendly Western countries and related individuals, allowing Moscow to seize assets as a form of compensation for financial losses Russia has suffered due to the illegal seizure of its assets. The committee will review the bill next week.
According to vedomosti, the bill was drafted by the Russian Ministry of Justice and was included in the committee's agenda on January 20. Izvestia noted that the document had been approved by relevant agencies, including the Russian Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Since 2022, Washington and its allies have frozen about $300 billion in Russian state assets at Euroclear, a Brussels-based financial institution, amid the escalating conflict in Ukraine. Kiev has repeatedly called on the West to appropriate Russian assets for use in arms procurement and national reconstruction.
The Biden administration has backed the proposal, but many European countries have opposed it due to concerns about its legality and negative impact on the Western financial system.
Some Western allies have proposed applying surprise profit tax on frozen Russian assets to use the money to buy weapons for Ukraine or as collateral for military loans.
The Kremlin has repeatedly condemned the freezing of assets as theft and warned that the use of the funds was illegal, setting a dangerous precedent. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow would sue anyone involved in the appropriation of Russian assets.
