Vladimir Putin issued a decree that allows Russian courts to confiscate US property and American citizens in response to the seizure of Russian assets by the country's authorities.
According to the document, state representatives will have to appeal to a Russian court. As compensation, they may be assigned “movable and immovable property,” “securities, shares in the authorized capital of Russian legal entities,” or “property rights” belonging to the United States or “US persons.”
To the latter in the document included citizens and residents of the country, as well as those for whom the United States is the “place of registration”, “place of primary business activity” or “place of primary profit.”
Since April 2023, another one has been operating in Russia a mechanism according to which Putin can transfer Russian divisions of Western companies to “temporary management” of the Federal Property Management Agency. This also affected Danone, the Baltika beer company and the Rolf car dealer of ex-deputy Sergei Petrov.
Putin’s decree came after US President Joe Biden signed a law with the abbreviated name REPO Act in April (.pdf). It allows the confiscation of assets of Russia, including the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance or the Direct Investment Fund, under American jurisdiction. There was no talk of private assets.
“The confiscation and finding of new uses for Russian sovereign assets by the United States serves key US national security goals and is consistent with American and global law,” the document said.
The Senate estimated the volume of Russian assets in the United States at $5-8 billion. At the G7 forum, speaking about the total size of frozen Russian assets, they cited the amount of $300 billion. At the same time, the EU countries in May decided not to confiscate, but to direct to help Ukraine the proceeds from the use of frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia. According to their estimates, at the beginning it will be about 3 billion euros per year.