The European Commission is studying legal possibilities for the confiscation of the assets of the Russian Federation, subjected to sanctions, in order to transfer such assets to the restoration of the infrastructure of Ukraine destroyed by the army of the aggressor country, the Financial Times writes.
The biggest fan of this idea is Poland. They believe that since Russia has started the war, it must pay, and the property of the Russian oligarchs who fell under the sanctions and the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia will be suitable for compensation.
– I think we need a political decision that we want to move in this direction, that we want to confiscate these assets forever. How it should be done – here we are open for discussion, – Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Pawel Jablonski said.
However, in the EU, there are significant legal barriers to confiscation of assets outside of criminal cases. European lawyers fear that simplifying this procedure would jeopardize the very concept of property rights.
– Everyone knows that this will be a rather dangerous path if the authorities begin to arbitrarily take assets, but it is clear that both the assets of the oligarchs and the reserves of the Russian Central Bank can be useful for restoring Ukraine and providing humanitarian assistance to it, – Hudson Institute expert Nate Sibley said.
Therefore, according to him, Brussels is considering the possibility of confiscation of assets of individuals trying to avoid sanctions. At the same time, this is possible only in EU countries, where sanctions evasion is a criminal offence.
A prime example is Italy, where Russian yachts and villas totaling over €1 billion were frozen. There are strict anti-mafia laws that can become a model for the confiscation and sale of the assets of Russian oligarchs.
In particular, the Italian authorities have the right to confiscate the assets of people who are involved in organized crime and are socially dangerous. Given this, the law can be applied to Russian businessmen who provoked the outbreak of the conflict or directly benefited from it.
In the meantime, according to lawyers, the Russians can appeal the sanctions, that is, the possibility of unfreezing their assets remains.
Europe is now discussing a sixth round of sanctions against Russia, including a strike on the Russian energy market.