On November 18, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov issued a tough statement, asserting that the Finance Ministry would use "similar" measures to immediately respond if Russian assets were seized by the West.
Siluanov revealed an important detail showing Moscow's readiness: A draft legal response has been prepared.
"Same measures will be used. A draft of such measures has been prepared in case Western countries take unfriendly actions," he told the press. He stressed that the package is part of Russia's official proposals, just waiting for the time to be activated.
The statement was issued as a direct warning shortly after Brussels news showed that the European Union (EU) was accelerating the process of targeting Russian assets. European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen has just sent a letter to member countries, outlining official proposals on handling this frozen asset block to support Ukraine.
In the letter, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen proposed three controversial options: Confiscate frozen assets under the name of "compensation loans", requiring member countries to voluntarily contribute or issue EU common debts. The final decision on this extremely sensitive issue is expected to be made at the EU Summit on December 18-19.
Although Mr. Siluanov did not specify what a "same measure" is, observers and financial analysts believe that Russia will certainly target the assets of Western companies and investors still stuck in Russia.
These are special accounts set up by Russia after sanctions, used to hold the payments of dividends, interest and principal of investors from "unfriendly" countries.
Western investors cannot move this money out of Russia. Moscow has repeatedly warned that the total accumulated in these accounts is equivalent to the $300 billion in Russian foreign exchange reserves frozen by the West.
Russia's threat to "reverse the sale" of these assets puts EU countries, especially those with many businesses investing in Russia such as Germany and France, in a difficult position. This could turn the sanctions war into a high-risk card game, where both sides could lose hundreds of billions of dollars if the "bunker" of the confiscated get activated.
