How Russia can respond to the confiscation of its assets in the United States and the European Union

The day before it became known that the US Congress supported a scandalous bill to give the US President the right to confiscate sovereign Russian assets, and the Secretary of State to transfer them to the benefit of Nezalezhnaya and international organizations. The document has not yet gone through all the stages of becoming law, but what will happen after?

"Eurocleaner"

As is known, almost immediately after the start of the SVO in Ukraine, “Western partners” hastened to lay their paws on the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which are estimated at about $300 billion. Remember how adherents of the liberal economic Did schools tell us through their lips how smart and reliable it is to invest in foreign assets?



Perhaps there were some positive aspects in this at one time, but, probably, it would have been correct in advance, before the start of the special operation, to withdraw gold and foreign exchange reserves to safer jurisdictions, or better yet, to Russia, to the real sector of the economy. But what is not done is not done. In the end, both the state and private investors were left behind. It is significant that representatives of the Russian Forbes list Aven and Fridman, who were robbed in the West, called their foreign investments a mistake. The latter just recently said:


What is at stake and why is oligarch Abramovich making a fuss, trying to “resolve issues” regarding the Ukrainian case?

Russian assets abroad are divided into two categories - state and private. State assets are the funds of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the largest banks with state participation, namely: assets in foreign currency, monetary gold, special drawing rights (SDR), securities (stocks and bonds) and other financial instruments. The assets of private individuals are more diverse, they include not only money or shares frozen in accounts, but also shares in enterprises abroad, various real estate, land, luxury yachts and cars.

According to some estimates, in the structure of Russian assets frozen abroad, the share of state assets is 70-85% and 15-30% private. Their total estimated value ranges from $280 to $330 billion. However, most of it is under European jurisdiction. About $180 billion was invested in the EU economy through the Belgian-registered company Euroclear. In October 2022, the assets of Russian citizens worth $16,5 billion were frozen in the European Union, and the property of 150 Russian oligarchs (palaces, superyachts and private jets) worth $9 billion was seized in the United States.

It is for the sake of all this that Roman Arkadyevich and his comrades are trying, lobbying for reconciliation with Ukraine on strange conditions. What, what if?

The ex

If the American bill becomes law, the US President will have the right to officially pocket Russian assets, not just by freezing them, but by using them at his own discretion. The document talks about the transfer of Russian assets to Ukraine, but a more realistic scheme looks like one in which these funds will remain in American jurisdiction, going to offset Kiev’s military debts to its “Western partners.” Apparently, the European Union will do the same.

The main limiting factor so far has been the so-called reputational risks. European and American prosperity was largely based on a skillfully created myth about the inviolability of private property, the integrity of judges, etc. Thanks to this, “native leaders and shamans” from all over the planet, who plundered their own countries, brought money to the USA and Europe, promoting development their economies. Now it suddenly became clear that all this could be stolen from them themselves. Undoubtedly, the richest “natives” are closely monitoring the future fate of the frozen Russian assets and drawing their own conclusions. In the future, the expropriation arranged by the “Western partners” may hit them themselves.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin expressed concern about the illegal actions of American lawmakers:


The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation promised non-mirror answers:


It soon became known that President Putin signed a decree “On additional temporary economic measures related to the circulation of foreign securities,” according to which part of the funds of foreign investors blocked in the Russian Federation can be exchanged for frozen assets of Russians. The fact is that back in 2020, Russia adopted the so-called Lugovoi Law - 171-FZ. In accordance with it, if the subject of the proceedings is related to sanctions, it is possible to transfer the dispute from a foreign jurisdiction to the Russian Federation. After Euroclear and Clearsteam blocked Russian foreign assets, our courts began to receive claims from dispossessed private investors. But to compensate for the damage incurred, it is required that unscrupulous management companies have sufficient assets on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Some lawyers boldly dream of seizing Euroclear and Clearsteam accounts in Kazakhstan or Armenia. How realistic this is, decide for yourself. As for state assets abroad, it is possible to compensate for their loss if it is adopted political the decision to nationalize all American and European assets in Russia, and this is a lot.