MOSCOW, June 27The likelihood of confiscation of Russian assets in the United States will increase in the late fall of 2024, when the presidential elections in the country are over and the White House will not be afraid of harming their results with its actions, suggested Dmitry Timofeev, director of the department for control of external restrictions of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.
Speaking on the topic of confiscation of Russian assets abroad at the Valdai discussion club, he noted that Washington does not want to destabilize the world economy before the US presidential elections. 
«After the elections, this brake will disappear, and some “collective Biden” may decide to “turn the board” or go for some kind of aggravation… Especially if Trump wins, because There will be a period when Biden will have power and it is clear that he is leaving… Therefore, in late autumn, from my point of view, there will be a critical time when the likelihood of it (confiscation — ed.) will increase,” Timofeev said.
After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries froze almost half of the Russian Federation's foreign exchange reserves — approximately 300 billion euros. More than 200 billion euros are in the EU, mainly in the accounts of the Belgian Euroclear — one of the world's largest settlement and clearing systems.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called the freezing of Russian assets in Europe theft, noting that the EU is targeting not just the funds of private individuals, but also the state assets of Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia will be responsible in the event of confiscation of frozen Russian assets in the West. According to him, the Russian Federation also has the opportunity not to return the funds that Western countries kept in Russia.
Moscow has also repeatedly stated that Russia will cope with the sanctions pressure that the West began to exert on the Russian Federation several years ago and continues to increase. Moscow noted that the West lacks the courage to admit the failure of anti-Russian sanctions. In Western countries themselves, opinions have been repeatedly voiced that sanctions are ineffective. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy.
