US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco backed European efforts to freeze Russian Central Bank assets, as allied nations look to force Russia to pay to repair the damage caused by its invasion of Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) — US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco backed European efforts to freeze Russian Central Bank assets, as allied nations look to force Russia to pay to repair the damage caused by its invasion of Ukraine.
Monaco said Group of 7 nations recently came together and “made a commitment to say we’re going to keep immobilized those assets wherever they are frozen across the globe, in jurisdictions across the globe.”
“And when that is over, we’re committed to ensuring that they’re used for the benefit of and to the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Monaco told an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday. “And I think that’s absolutely appropriate.”
The dramatic move to freeze Russian banking assets and use them to rebuild Ukraine is not without controversy, as debate has erupted over the legality of doing so. Russia has claimed it would amount to “outright theft.” Last year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she believed such a move is “not something legally permissible in the United States” but it’s natural that Russia would be called on to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
EU Studies Use of Russian Central Bank Assets to Rebuild Ukraine
Monaco said the US has been “exceptionally aggressive“ in going after the assets of wealthy Russians, especially through its KleptoCapture task force.
The department also is targeting enablers and intermediaries “who feed and fuel the Russian war machine,” such as “shadowy front companies, the accountants, the lawyers and those who enable the hiding of the assets,” Monaco said.
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