Russian money for Ukraine: PACE unanimously adopts resolution on confiscation of Russian assets

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called for the frozen assets of the Russian central bank to be transferred to rebuild Ukraine. At the same time, the Assembly calls for the confiscation to be extended to include assets of Russian oligarchs who cooperate with the Kremlin that have been seized in the European Union (EU).

PACE adopted the resolution at a meeting on April 16. The decision was made unanimously, according to the PACE page on X (ex-Twitter). "The Parliamentary Assembly unanimously adopts a resolution calling for the transfer of frozen Russian state assets to a new fund for the restoration of Ukraine," the statement reads.

As explained by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko (Eurosolidarity), the document adopted by PACE contains several calls. In particular:

• to create an international compensation mechanism under the auspices of the Council of Europe;
• to actively cooperate with different countries for the rapid transfer of Russian assets to the compensation mechanism;

• create an international trust fund to transfer all Russian state assets to the EU;
• convene an impartial and effective commission on international claims.

It also provides for the development of a mechanism to bring to justice all those who cooperate with the Kremlin. According to this proposal, liability should come in the form of confiscation of property that will be used to rebuild Ukraine.

"Under international law, countries have the authority to take countermeasures against a state that has seriously violated international law. The time has come for the Council of Europe member states to move from sanctions to countermeasures," the PACE committee said earlier, adding that the legitimacy of such countermeasures remains "indisputable."

As a reminder, so far, the EU decision-making level has not discussed the confiscation of Russian money. They are only considering using the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. According to the Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, it could be up to 3 billion euros a year.

At the same time, about 260 billion euros of Russian central bank assets, mostly in the form of securities and cash, have been seized in the G7 countries, the EU, and Australia. Most of the funds have been frozen through the Belgian clearing center Euroclear, which earned about €4.4 billion in profit last year.

The G7 (the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Canada) is debating whether it is possible to take the frozen funds from Russia and transfer them to Ukraine without violating the principles of international law. The United States and Britain are in favor of full confiscation of assets, while the most fierce opponents of this idea are France and Germany, who are concerned about Russia's possible response to confiscation.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, even the United States and Britain have problems with confiscation. Thus, after two years since the start of the full-scale invasion, British politicians have not yet implemented their ideas on confiscation of Russian assets in favor of Ukraine. They believe that there are allegedly insufficient grounds for such confiscation.

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