The European Union has approved plans to transfer income from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. The European Commission intends to present legal proposals in December. Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Iryna Mudra, explained in a comment during the TV marathon that there are mechanisms in place through which Ukraine can obtain these frozen assets.
Western sanctions have frozen $300 billion, which belong to the Russian central bank. Most of these funds, around 180 billion euros, are held in Euroclear, the world's largest securities depository with headquarters in Brussels. Euroclear recently announced that it earned approximately 3 billion euros from frozen Russian assets in just the first nine months of this year, compared to 347 million euros for the same period in 2022. This increase is due to rising interest rates.
According to the Deputy Minister of Justice, Ukraine's Western partners are considering the possibility of using Russian assets to generate income and direct it toward projects for Ukraine's recovery.
"Therefore, the expectation for such a plan is in December. These assets are mainly in the form of securities with maturity and income payments. Therefore, this liquidity can be used and can work, bringing income (windfall revenues). As Euroclear itself stated, these funds have already accumulated to 3 billion. So, we understand that these incomes are significantly increasing and will be very beneficial for Ukraine," explained Iryna Mudra.
According to her, these funds do not legally belong to the Russian Federation. Instead, they are considered "unexpected income" that would not have been obtained if it weren't for the sanctions imposed due to Russia's initiated war in Ukraine. Deputy Minister of Justice also emphasized that Ukraine will strive for the confiscation of all Russian assets, not just the income generated from them.
"We certainly welcome this European initiative, and Ukraine is very grateful for the support. However, it's important that such a decision does not overshadow our primary goal - the confiscation of Russian Federation assets and their transfer to compensate those affected by this unprovoked and unjust war," stated Iryna Mudra.
It's worth noting that the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine is responsible for matters related to the confiscation of Russian assets in favor of Ukraine and those affected. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice is the authorized body to appeal to the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine regarding the application of sanctions to recover Russian private assets for the state's benefit.
