Russia has drawn up plans to nationalise and sell off foreign-owned assets in response to potential EU action on its frozen reserves, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
According to a decree signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Moscow can now fast-track the sale of both domestic and foreign-owned companies, cutting pre-sale valuations to 10 days and accelerating registration procedures.
The move comes as EU leaders gather in Denmark to advance a plan to raise €140 billion in loans for Ukraine by leveraging immobilised Russian central bank assets. The scheme – gaining traction after Washington scaled back direct support for Kyiv – would not formally seize the funds, but Moscow would only recover them if it compensates Ukraine for war damages.
Earlier Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU has a “sound legal way” of using the frozen Russian assets to pay reparations to Ukraine.
EU has ‘sound’ legal basis for Ukraine reparation loan, says von der Leyen
Brussels has a legally “sound” basis for using hundreds of billions of euros’ worth of…
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Putin has repeatedly warned that any seizure of Russia’s frozen reserves could destabilise the global financial system. Going into today’s meeting of EU leaders, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas dismissed those concerns.
“If you don’t start a war against another country, then you are out of the risk, and I think the majority of the countries, a majority of the people, a majority of the companies in the world, will not start wars against other countries,” she said.
An analysis by Reuters from 2024, estimates that foreign firms that left Russia since 2022 have lost €90 billion.