An ally of President Vladimir Putin warned Europe on Tuesday that Russia has already drafted legislation to retaliate if nearly $300 billion of Russian assets were seized by the West and used to help Ukraine.

After President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry, blocking around $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West.

Top officials in the United States want to seize the assets to help support Ukraine, though some bankers and European officials are worried that simply taking the assets would create a dangerous precedent.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Saturday including a bill with a provision that would allow the confiscation of Russian sovereign assets, though the lion’s share of the assets are in Europe.

  • wewbull@feddit.uk
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    6 months ago

    If they want to hurt us over it, it means it will hurt them if we do it.

    though some bankers and European officials are worried that simply taking the assets would create a dangerous precedent.

    Just make a law that it’s a 100% tax on assets identified as falling under sanctions related to a aggressive invading nation. Precedent limited.

  • Beryl@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    What are they gonna do ? Finance far-right parties in all of Europe to sow discord ? Oh wait.

  • mindlight@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    As a European I say: Let’s go bitch!

    We’ve been way too dependant on Russia. It’s time we acknowledge the actual cost for cheap gas and oil from Russia.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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    6 months ago

    “And the Europeans will lose more than we do,” Matviyenko, who is a member of Russia’s powerful Security Council, said.

      • tal@lemmy.today
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        6 months ago

        Cyberwarfare, political interference, nuclear weapons, sabotage of infrastructure, assassinations…

        The question isn’t really “can Russia”, but “will Russia”. Because Russia doing any of those is probably going to produce a response in turn.

        • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          They’re already doing the first two, last three seem like they’d get way more escalation than they bargained for. They don’t have intermediate escalation options that they haven’t used already.

          • tal@lemmy.today
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            6 months ago

            They’re already doing the first two

            Not really a binary, though; they can dial things up or down.

    • gregorum@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      Isn’t a much of Europe still running off of a lot of Russian gas? They could just turn that spigot off.

      • Skua@kbin.social
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        6 months ago

        The EU has cut its imports of Russian gas down from nearly half of the total supply to about 15% since the war started, so that’s not nearly the threat it once was

        • gregorum@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          While it’s great the EU has made such a reduction, it’s still a meaningful threat, even if it’s not the serious one it once was. And I also realize that we’re moving into summer which also blunts it a bit more.

          I’m just considering what Russia could be referring to, what their options are. I think it’s most likely that any retaliation would come in the form of several smaller actions rather than a single larger one in order to exact the “hurt”, so to speak.

  • fluxion@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I think “start a war and lose all your fucking money to pay for it” is a good precedent and everyone should immediately employ it.

    • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I agree completely and would like that to apply to all countries, even mine. Let there be real consequences for the ultra-rich for a country starting wars, and maybe you’ll see the politics change. Maybe not, but I’d like to hope so.

  • Nobody@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Have all the oligarchs dump their western real estate and crash the housing market?

    Please…

    • fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      Not all of Russia, just the Kremlin and oligarchs. Many Russians are decent people, often deceived by their sociopath rulers and constant propaganda.

      • avater@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Not all of Russia, just the Kremlin and oligarchs

        Really hate to burst your bubble here, but the Russians who are against their leaders are in the minority and a lot of Russians were and still are fine with the way their country has been reigned in the last decades and today. The myth that this is just Putin’s war is just that, a myth…

  • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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    6 months ago

    The Kremlin has repeatedly said that any seizure of its assets would go against all the principles of free markets which the West proclaims and that it would undermine confidence in the U.S. dollar and euro while deterring global investment and undermining confidence in Western central banks.

    Like establishing an economic collaborative consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa that are all in talks to increase trade with each other, and ditch the dollar as their trade currency?
    Like attempting to undermine the petrodollar as the world reserve currency for purchasing oil?

    I don’t know what counters the west has in their bag, but it’s a little silly to make threats as if BRICS hasn’t been completely transparent about their plans the whole time.
    It’s kind of an empty threat if you’ve been openly working on it for decades while the (more powerful) nations you plan to ratfuck have had time to prepare. I also don’t know how China would manage with a loss or rapid decrease in trade. They seem a bit too pragmatic than to follow Russia into a hole.

    Some Russian officials have suggested that if Russian assets are confiscated then foreign investors’ assets stuck in special so-called type “C” accounts in Russia could face the same fate.

    I’m sure they’d have to target all western accounts at once. Targeting one type will lead to the rest quickly hemorrhaging their money out of country.
    And I don’t think they’d wind up attracting new western investment for decades if they pulled a move like that.

  • rusticus@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    The US will never seize Russian assets because they are all on loan to the Republican Party.