Moscow recognizes the possibility of an asymmetric response to withdrawals from the accounts of the Russian embassy in Poland. stated Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova.
“The Polish embassy in Moscow also does not have access to funds in Russian banks, since the principle of reciprocity in diplomacy works,” the diplomat said. “We also allow the possibility of using asymmetric measures in response.”
Zakharova stated that Russia will “continue to seek justice by legal means”. She noted that the Russian funds were not confiscated, but transferred to the accounts of the district attorney’s office as material evidence, but Moscow could not dispose of them.
Suspicions of the Polish prosecutor’s office
On April 26, the Russian Ambassador to Warsaw, Sergei Andreev, announced that the Polish prosecutor’s office had seized money from the accounts of Russia’s diplomatic mission and trade mission. The diplomats’ funds in US dollars and Polish zloty were transferred from Santander Bank to the accounts of the prosecutor’s office. We’re talking about “significant funds,” according to the ambassador.
On May 10, the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported that the prosecutor’s office seized about 800,000 zlotys and more than $912,000 (about $1.2 million in total), previously blocked in the bank accounts of the embassy and trade delegation. Rzeczpospolita claims that Russian diplomats tried to withdraw large sums of cash from their accounts three times – twice $500,000 and once $300,000, which aroused suspicion among Polish prosecutors.
The Russian ambassador had previously tried to challenge the seizure of the accounts, but lost in court.
“They put forward the idea that these funds were seized as material evidence in a criminal case and transferred to the accounts of the prosecution, which is complete nonsense. Something could be a piece of evidence, not non-cash funds, Anton Morozov, Russian trade representative in Poland, told RBC.
He described the actions of the Polish authorities as a violation of the Vienna Convention. “Still, we are here and we continue to work,” said the diplomat.
The Polish prosecutor’s office suspects that the Russian diplomatic mission may use the money to finance terrorism or “launder” illegally obtained funds. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described such accusations as “contrary to the traditional principles of communication between civilized states and to all legal norms.”
On March 3, 2022, the Russian ambassador to Poland announced that the accounts of the embassy in Warsaw were frozen and Russian real estate, especially the building where the diplomats lived, was confiscated. In response, the Russian authorities blocked the accounts of the Polish Embassy in Moscow.
On April 29, 2023, the Warsaw authorities came to the school in the Russian embassy, closed the doors and started the process of confiscating the building. The Russian Embassy sent a protest note to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that it was ready to break diplomatic relations. Maria Zakharova emphasized that after the seizure of the school building by the Polish authorities, Moscow has the right to break diplomatic relations, but that the Russians living in Poland will be harmed primarily.