The Czech Republic will freeze all Russian state assets

In line with my proposal, the government today approved the freezing of Russian state assets in the Czech Republic. This ends the commercial activities that Russia uses to finance the murders of Ukrainians

he wrote on the social networking site X (formerly Twitter).

https://twitter.com/JanLipavsky/status/1724839400985473123

The decision of the Czech government was welcomed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Czech Republic has just frozen all Russian state assets. I welcome this principled step and thank my colleague and friend Jan Lipawski. All countries that have not yet done so should follow suit. Russian money should be spent on the reconstruction of Ukraine, not on murder and destruction

said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1724848572342915391

What is known about the seizure of Russian property

On March 10 last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law on the forced seizure of property belonging to the Russian Federation and its residents. The payment will be made without compensation.

On March 16 last year, the US Ministry of Justice announced the creation of KleptoCapture - a unit dedicated to searching for the assets of Russian officials and oligarchs who are trying to hide it from sanctions. On April 26, US Attorney General Merrick Garland supported the idea of ​​transferring the assets of Russian oligarchs confiscated in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation directly to Ukraine.

At the end of April 2022, the House of Representatives of the US Congress approved a bill providing for the confiscation of frozen assets of legal entities and individuals subject to Russian sanctions. The withdrawn funds are to be used for additional military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

Last May, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States had no legal mechanisms to confiscate the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank so that they could then be used to rebuild Ukraine's economy.

On June 24, 2022, the Senate of Canada adopted a bill providing for the possibility of confiscation of Russian property.

On November 14, 2022, the UN General Assembly, by a majority vote, adopted a resolution on "Providing legal remedies and reparations in connection with aggression against Ukraine", prepared by Ukraine with the co-authorship of over fifty countries.

It contains the recognition by UN states of the need to create an international compensation mechanism for the damage caused to Ukraine by Russia and recommendations to states on the creation of an international register of damages. It is about documenting evidence and information about damage, losses, or injuries caused to natural and legal persons, as well as to the Ukrainian state. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmytro Medvedev, commenting on the adoption of the UN resolution on compensation for damage caused to Ukraine in connection with Russian aggression, threatened the West with seizing the assets of foreign private investors.

According to an internal document of the European Commission, on November 18, 2022, the European Union froze Russian assets worth EUR 68 billion. Currently, the European Union is examining the possibility of directing part of the frozen assets of the Russian bank to the reconstruction of Ukraine. Discussions are at an early stage as such steps require a review of the legal framework.