Russia may nationalize and quickly sell off foreign assets under a new privatization mechanism in response to a possible European decision to seize Russian assets abroad.
Bloomberg writes about this.
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree on September 30 allowing an accelerated procedure for the sale of state property.
The document is designed to accelerate the sale of various companies, both Russian and foreign. If the EU starts seizing Russian assets, Moscow may respond with symmetrical measures, the agencyʼs source says.
According to the published document, the decree limits the preliminary valuation of assets to ten days and speeds up property registration.
The new decree can also be used to sell assets previously owned by Russian investors.
Hundreds of Western companies still operate in Russia, in various fields from banking to consumer goods, including UniCredit, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, PepsiCo, and Mondelez International.
Putin signed the decree amid a meeting of EU leaders in Denmark, where they are pushing a plan to provide Ukraine with a €140 billion loan from frozen Russian reserves.
According to Bloomberg, the European Union is offering an option that is not formally considered confiscation: Russia retains the right to demand the return of the funds in the future, but only if it agrees to compensate Ukraine for losses from the war.
Frozen Russian assets
The value of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the EU is almost €211 billion. In total, the European Union, the G7 countries and Australia have frozen approximately €260 billion in securities and cash.
In October 2024, the EU Council finally approved a loan of up to €35 billion to Ukraine. This money is the blocʼs contribution to the G7 initiative to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion (€45 billion) loan, which will be repaid with the proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
A few days after the EU Council decision, the G7 countries agreed to a $50 billion loan for Ukraine using proceeds from Russiaʼs frozen assets. The US contribution was $20 billion.
The European Commission on August 29 began developing a mechanism to transfer almost €200 billion of frozen Russian assets. The EU is considering transferring the assets to a “special purpose holding company” supported by the G7 countries. The €18 billion from the EU will be paid in full by the end of the year — which is why they are again looking for a new solution regarding frozen Russian assets.
The UK government on September 4 directed one billion pounds from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to purchase military aid for Ukraine.
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