The European Commission has confirmed that it has developed legally acceptable options for using Russia's assets, both private and state-owned, to restore Ukraine.

Source: Christian Wiegand, the spokesman for the European Commission, reported by European Pravda

Details: According to Wiegand, the assets of Russian individuals and legal entities under EU sanctions worth about €24.1 billion have been frozen in the European Union. The sanctions do not provide for the seizure of these assets, as this would violate the law.

Quote from Wiegand: "We have put forward a proposal to criminalise the violation of EU restrictive measures, and discussions with other EU institutions have already made significant progress. This will allow for the seizure of these assets in case of sanctions evasion, which will be done in accordance with the law, in this case, criminal law."

More details: As for the state-owned assets of the Central Bank of Russia, they cannot be simply confiscated, but the European Commission suggested a different way at the end of last year.

"The idea is, in fact, to work with these assets and use the profits from them. Because, again, we have to follow the rule of law and cannot simply confiscate such assets. But, according to our legal opinion, we can work with these immobilised assets," Wiegand added. 

Background: Earlier, US Attorney General Merrick Garland authorised for the first time the transfer of seized assets of a Russian oligarch to Ukraine for reconstruction purposes.

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