State Duma mulls confiscation of non-residents' assets in response to EU plans
On 20 November, State Duma deputies unanimously supported a petition for Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to prepare countermeasures in case the European Union decides to use the frozen assets of the Bank of Russia.
The parliamentarians are calling to direct attention to the proposals of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to issue "a reparations loan using Russia's blocked sovereign assets."
What the EU means by a reparations loan is a loan of up to €140 billion from Russia's frozen assets. Granting a loan to Kyiv should not lead to the seizure of Russian assets, but since Ukraine may not repay the loan, the financial risks should be shared by the G7 countries, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in November. On 17 November, Western media reported on von der Leyen's letter to the EU countries describing three main options for helping Ukraine. These are support financed by member states through grants, a loan financed by the EU through borrowing on financial markets, or a loan linked to funds in Russia's frozen accounts.
Russian Central Bank assets frozen in the West are estimated to total €300 billion. Of this, about $5 billion is in the United States, and the bulk is in the Belgian depository Euroclear. The EU is currently using an instrument that allows it to transfer earnings from the Russian assets to Ukraine, while the assets themselves remain frozen.
"It is obvious that the proposal for European Union member countries to use Russian assets to issue loans does not provide for any compensation, which is in fact the illegal taking of property, so if such a decision is implemented, it can be regarded as outright theft," the State Duma statement said. The deputies note that such actions "undermine the image of the EU as a jurisdiction and a reserve currency issuer, leading to a loss of confidence in Western institutions as a whole."
According to the parliamentarians, any encroachment on Russian assets "should entail an appropriate legal response, starting with claims for damages — with a request to seize property in any jurisdiction as a precautionary measure — against Euroclear and Belgium, where the bulk of illegally frozen sovereign funds are held." The State Duma believes that the [Russian] assets of non-residents from unfriendly states could also be used as a source of compensation for damages.
In this regard, deputies are proposing that the government, together with the Central Bank, prepare in advance "a plan of countermeasures by the Russian Federation in the event that the European Union passes this decision."
The speaker of the chamber, Vyacheslav Volodin, announced the preparation of this petition by the State Duma on 18 November. On the same day, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the Ministry of Finance had already prepared a draft response to the possible confiscation of Russian assets by the European Union.
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05.12.25