MOSCOW, February 24 International banks have called on the UK government to establish legal principles before the possible confiscation of Russian assets, Bloomberg reports, citing sources.
Representatives of the financial industry said that the withdrawal of funds should take place within the framework of internationally agreed measures to ensure the legality of such actions. In particular, some British bankers and lawyers have warned that large asset seizures could undermine London's reputation as an international financial center and raise questions about the rule of law in the country.
Banks believe some form of legal protection or compensation is critical if Moscow files lawsuits against institutions involved in the asset seizure, the agency's sources said.
On Friday, the Politico newspaper, citing sources, reported that the leaders of the G7 countries do not yet plan to announce measures to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, since the EU still does not fully support this idea. As one European diplomat said, the issue is complex and its consideration is at a “preliminary stage.”
Since the start of the special operation, the EU and G7 countries have frozen almost half of Russia's foreign exchange reserves, amounting to approximately 300 billion euros. About 200 billion is in the European Union, mainly in the accounts of the Belgian Euroclear. In October 2023, the company reported that in nine months it had earned about three billion euros in interest from investing in sanctioned Russian assets.
The European Central Bank warned that Europe's use of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine could have reputational consequences risks for the euro in the long term. They called on Brussels to “look beyond this separate conflict” and look for other ways to finance Kiev.