The Wall Street Gazette authorEU representatives acknowledged the impossibility of confiscating the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank. As a justification, it is shown that the principle of international state immunity works.
The publication states that on November 30, the European Commission plans to set up a special fund to manage liquid assets instead of withdrawing funds, and divert profits to payments to Ukraine. Representatives of the European Commission told the newspaper that the EU did not have precise data on how much Russian funds were frozen, as well as how much of liquid assets were frozen. At the start of special operations by the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, the G7 countries froze about $ 300 billion of assets of the Central Bank – about half of the total volume of Russian gold reserves abroad.
The WSJ was also told that US authorities would not be able to use Russian assets. According to anonymous sources from the US Department of the Treasury and the US Department of Justice, officials have asked Congress to develop legislative measures in favor of Ukraine that would allow for the arrest and subsequent transfer of funds. The newspaper’s interlocutors point out that the American administration is “limited in its actions” at this stage.
Renewal of detention fund
In addition, the Swiss Ministry of Economy announced about the blocking of about $ 8 billion of Russian funds.
“As of November 25, 2022, frozen assets of (Russian natural and legal persons – socialbites.ca) in Switzerland amounted to 7.5 billion francs ($ 7.94 billion),” the press service of the Ministry of Economy said.
In addition, 15 real estates are blocked in six Swiss cantons (regional-administrative unit. – socialbites.ca).
They stated that they will continue to look for an opportunity to block Russian funds. But some of the funds can be dissolved under certain conditions, according to the document.
European Commission as Regulator
The previous day, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed to create a fund from the blocked Russian assets, to invest these funds under the control of the European authorities, and to transfer the profits to Ukraine as compensation.
“We blocked the 300 billion Euro reserve of the Russian Central Bank and the 19 billion Euro private funds of the Russian oligarchs. In the short term, we can create a structure with our partners to manage and invest these funds and then use the proceeds for Ukraine. “Then the funds should be used to fully recoup Ukraine’s losses,” he said.
Von der Leyen also proposed the establishment of an international anti-Russian tribunal and UN support for its establishment – this would help establish a legally legal basis for the confiscation of funds.
“We propose to set up a UN-sponsored special tribunal to investigate the crime of Russian aggression. We stand ready to work with the international community to provide the widest possible international support to this specialized court. We will work with our partners on an international agreement. “We can find legal ways to do that,” he said.
In October, the EC president stated at a conference in Berlin that the European Commission “could take on the burden of working as a secretariat for the collection and distribution of international aid to Kiev”.
Adequate measures of the Russian Federation
In response to von der Leyen’s statements, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned the EU that it was ready to take appropriate retaliatory measures against European assets. What kind of measures – Zakharova did not specify, but they will depend on the nature of the actions of the European authorities against the Russian Federation.
“We warn once again that when it comes to the actual confiscation of the property, enterprises, state reserves of our country, adequate measures will inevitably be taken by the Russian side,” said Moscow 24.
The diplomat noted that Brussels would nevertheless take the real responsibility, including for the consequences of European trade.
waiver of immunity
Welt reported that they propose to simplify the procedure for the possibility of using Russian assets in Kiev. As the head of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine Denis Malyuska said, Kyiv wants a decision from the partners to lift the state immunity of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. According to him, the damage done to the country is enormous and has already amounted to around 750 billion euros.
“Frozen funds are divided into three categories with different solutions for each. The first is Russian state assets. They are protected by sovereign immunity. That’s why we ask our partners to lift the sovereign immunity of the Central Bank of Russia.”
Maluska proposed to legalize the deprivation of international immunity of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation by concluding an appropriate international agreement.
The second category of freezing includes the assets of Russian state companies, the legal basis for their confiscation can also be discarded by creating an international document. He said that “oligarchic” assets are not a direct target for Kyiv, because “state assets are the largest amounts”. He said private funds could be confiscated if proven to have been obtained as a result of criminal activity.