Canada has enacted changes to its legislation that allow for the extraction of income from frozen assets of the Russian Federation and the transfer of these funds to Ukraine. This was reported by Vladyslav Vlasuk, an advisor to the President of Ukraine on sanctions policy, in response to journalists’ questions.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Mechanism for Transferring Income from Assets
According to Vlasuk, the new legislative mechanism gives Ottawa the right to seize profits derived from immobilized Russian assets for the benefit of the state, after which these funds will be directed to Ukraine. Vlasuk emphasized that although the amounts involved in Canada are not significant, the very fact of creating this mechanism is an important step forward.
“These are not very large sums in Canada, to be frank, but the approach itself is important and positive,” Vlasuk noted.
He also stressed that Ukraine views the complete confiscation of sovereign assets of the Russian Federation as a fair solution that would serve the interests of both Ukraine and its partners.
Current Situation with Assets Worldwide
In Western countries, a compromise scheme is currently being used, agreed upon at the end of last year. It involves maintaining the frozen status of Russian state assets while providing Ukraine with financial support in the form of loans guaranteed by future income from these assets. However, as Vlasuk noted, this model is not ideal and is currently only partially implemented due to resistance from certain countries, particularly Hungary.
Ukraine insists on the complete confiscation of Russian state assets but acknowledges that achieving such a decision will take time. Vlasuk reported that discussions on this issue are ongoing at a high level, and the process may take several years. Active legal work is currently underway with partners, including Belgium, to engage more countries in supporting the confiscation mechanism.
Approximately 300 billion dollars of sovereign Russian assets are frozen in Europe. The largest portion of these funds, around 190 billion euros, is held in the international depository Euroclear in Belgium. In the United Kingdom, approximately 30 billion euros are blocked, while in France, 19 billion euros are frozen.
The European Union is providing assistance to Ukraine through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) mechanism, which involves the provision of around 50 billion dollars in loans secured by profits from frozen Russian assets. These resources are intended to support the state budget, finance military needs, and rebuild Ukrainian infrastructure.