Moscow– The Russian authorities are still facing difficult options to compensate for the losses caused by the confiscation of their financial assets, especially in light of talking about the intention of European countries. Ukraine.
The file of the frozen Russian assets returned to the surface after the “Eurocker” Financial Services Company declined its income from these assets by 7.5% on an annual basis, thus the first time that only 1.47 billion euros (1.68 billion dollars) of interest revenues from investing Russian assets for the first quarter of 2025 have been achieved.
According to the company, which is based in Belgium, the Russian sanctions and counter -procedures led to direct expenses worth 22 million euros (25 million dollars), while the profits related to Russian assets, which are subject to the tax of Belgian companies, achieved tax revenues of the state worth 360 million euros (410 million dollars).
Moreover, Eurocker announced that it intends to compensate the investors who claim that Moscow Their money was confiscated, at 3 billion euros of the frozen Russian assets, which is part of the total amount of 10 billion euros (11.4 billion dollars) belonging to the companies and Russian individuals who have been subjected tosanctions European Union 2022.
Cumulative losses
After the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Western countries froze assets Central Bank The Russian in the form of cash and securities worth 260 billion euros (about 296.5 billion dollars), more than two -thirds of them in the “Eurocker” company.
In the first nine months of 2024, Eurocker made a profit of 5.1 billion euros (about 5.82 billion dollars) of Russian assets, and after that on October 31, a president said Central Bank The Russian, Elvira Nabilanina, is that work is underway to decipher the gold reserves and foreign currencies, but did not explain how this will be.
Moscow considers Western sanctions illegal, demands their lifting and stresses that it will not give up its rights to frozen assets.
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that it would consider any measures related to the frozen assets “theft”, and promised to defend Russian interests before the judiciary, warning of the consequences.
Retaliatory
Financial expert Arkadi Tolov believes that the option of “revenge procedures” is the most likely, and is the confiscation of assets and securities for foreign investors deposited in category C. “C” accounts in response to the West’s confiscation of Russian assets.
According to Al -Jazeera Net, the withdrawal of payments on frozen assets may begin in the Category C accounts for the benefit of the state, adding that Moscow may also consider taking measures to freeze the assets traded outside the stock exchange, which include taxes, grants and special donations.
According to him, this option is the only one if foreign investors refuse to participate in the Mbappe of Asset Program, in which Western participants in the market gets frozen foreign cards, while the Russians get frozen Russian cards.
He explains that the category “C” is the financial assets and securities of foreign investors deposited in accounts that may be affected by these procedures, and these assets include Bonds Stocks, options, futures contracts, joint investment funds and other financial tools.
However, the spokesman believes that the struggle over frozen assets is likely to remain a major point of disagreement in Russia’s relations with Western countries, and this may lead to lengthy diplomatic confrontations and additional sanctions.
Complicated settlement
For his part, Daniel Petraneko believes that one of the settlement options may be Russia’s approval to use $ 300 billion of frozen sovereign assets in Europe to rebuild Ukraine, provided that part of these funds is spent on the fifth area of the country controlled by Russian forces.
In an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, he adds that this approval may come as part of a possible peace agreement in light of the pursuit of Moscow Itaperus To end the war.
But it indicates a dilemma that can face Russian approval, which is that World Bank The cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is estimated at $ 486 billion, which exceeds the volume of frozen Russian assets.
However, the speaker suggests that Russia continues to demand the lifting of freezing from assets as part of a gradual reduction in the sanctions, taking into account that the European economy itself will face the risk of confronting negative consequences as a result of the continuation of the confiscation of Russian assets, because this may reduce its attractiveness to investors and businessmen.
In this demonstration, he cites the absence of consensus among the participants in the summit London The latter on the Ukrainian conflict over the issue of confiscating the frozen Russian origins, regarding the transition from the freezing of Russian assets to their confiscation.
He continues that most of the leaders of the countries participating in the summit, and if they consider the confiscation of Russian origins a good idea, some of them expressed caution about this proposal, for fear of the consequences of the euro or the European banking system, as well as it is impossible to confiscate Russian origins legally, because it is evident that if reserves are confiscated, Russia will respond with similar measures.
According to him, the struggle over the frozen assets is likely to remain a major point of disagreement in relationships Russia With Western countries, it may lead to prolonged diplomatic confrontations, additional sanctions, and continue to seek to exacerbate Russia’s economic isolation.