EU Council allows release of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine’s recovery
The EU Council’s decision on Russia’s frozen property paves the way for the use of profits from these assets in favor of Ukraine, Deputy Minister of Justice Iryna Mudra said in a statement on the department’s website on Feb. 13.
“At the moment, 260 billion euros ($280 billion) of the Central Bank of Russia’s assets have been frozen in the jurisdictions of the G7 partners, the EU and Australia, with more than two-thirds of them in the EU,” said the official.
“The decision adopted by the EU Council clarifies, among other things, the legal status of the income received by central securities depositories from the use of Russian assets. This opens the way for the use of profits from frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine.”
Read also: Ukrainian FM lauds EU move to aid Ukraine with profits from frozen Russian assets
The EU Council, in particular, decided that depositories holding assets of the Russian central bank worth more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) should separately account for the balances accumulated as a result of EU restrictive measures and should also keep the relevant income separately.
In addition, depositories were prohibited from disposing of their net income. Taking into account the risks and costs associated with the custody of the assets and reserves of the Central Bank of Russia, each central securities depository may apply to its supervisory authority to authorize the release of a portion of this net profit, subject to compliance with the authorized capital and risks, the deputy minister said.
Read also: Russian FM threatens ‘tough response’ in case of confiscation of Russian assets in the West
The relevant decision allows the EU Council to set a financial contribution to the EU budget, collected from the profits from the use of Russian assets. The funds are to be used to support Ukraine and its recovery and reconstruction.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier called for the transfer of frozen Russian assets abroad, which amount to about $300 billion, to Ukraine.
On Feb. 12, the Council of the European Union approved a resolution allowing the use of profits from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. This decision enables the Council to decide on a possible financial contribution to the EU budget collected from this net profit to support Ukraine and its recovery and reconstruction at a later stage.
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