Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that if the West started using revenues from frozen Russian reserves, then Russia would do the same using frozen assets of unfriendly companies. He writes about this Pravda.Ru .
Siluanov noted that the relevant decisions have already been taken, and the country will use these funds for the needs of the economy and the regions.
"If Western countries started using the income from the frozen reserves of the Russian Federation, we will do exactly the same. We have frozen money from unfriendly companies and organizations. We keep this money absolutely in our accounts as well, and we will use the proceeds from the use of these assets in the same way. We will direct them to the needs of the economy, to the needs of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and such decisions will also be taken and implemented," Siluanov said.
When asked about the timing of decision-making, the Finance Minister said that they had already been made.
Recall, the European Union is going to provide Ukraine with a loan of 35 billion euros for a period of 45 years. They want to repay it at the expense of income from frozen assets of Russia. The legality of these actions is questionable, says Maxim Osadchy, head of the analytical department of BKF Bank. According to him, unauthorized alienation of assets is theft.
In the West, Russia's sovereign assets of about $300 billion have been blocked. More than 200 billion euros are in the European Union. In particular, on the accounts of the Belgian Euroclear system, one of the largest settlement and clearing organizations in the world. Almost immediately after that, discussions began on the possible confiscation of these assets in the interests of foreign countries. In October 2022, EU leaders instructed the European Commission to develop proposals for the use of frozen Russian funds to restore Ukraine.
It was not possible to agree on asset confiscation, as it carries unpredictable economic and political risks. It was considered acceptable to take the income received from these assets. The amount is approximately three to five billion euros annually.
Although this is very doubtful from a legal point of view. It is not entirely clear what the difference is, for example, with a situation when a bank client is being charged interest on a deposit under any pretext, or without it at all.