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Transcript/ScriptUkraine Russian Money – Vasileva
HEAD: EU Hopes to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Help Rebuild Ukraine
TEASER: Bloc is looking at ways to criminalize evasion of sanctions
DATE: 05/14/2023 at 8:26 pm
PUBLISHED AT:
BYLINE: Valentina Vasilyeva
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Brussels, Belgium
VIDEOGRAPHER: Elena Matusovsky
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA & News Agencies TBA
PLATFORMS: TV only
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; Reifenrath, DJ(ok)
TRT: 3:36
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:
PLEASE RETURN TO ANNA RICE AND COPY TO HFR WHEN DONE))
((INTRO:))
[[When Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, European officials quickly set out to punish Moscow by freezing any Russian assets held outside the country. Now the question is what, if anything, can be done with these billions of dollars. Valentina Vasileva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.]]
((NARRATION))
According to European Union officials, at least 24 billion dollars' worth of Russian oligarchs' private assets held in the EU have been frozen since the start of the war.
Now the EU is looking for legal ways to use those reserves to help fund Ukraine's reconstruction.
((Christian Wigand, European Commission Spokesperson)) ((ENG))
“The figures are usually slightly increasing. Sometimes you can see small decreases because at times assets are liberated — if there was a mistake made or something. But in general, we see a steady increase since last year, when this operation started.”
((NARRATION))
Individual countries — like Estonia — are looking into using their own laws to pass the frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
But the EU has laws that allow the seizure of private individuals' and entities' frozen assets if a court has determined they have been obtained by illegal means, which usually requires a criminal conviction, though the bloc is trying to update those laws.
((Christian Wigand, European Commission Spokesperson)) ((ENG))
“The [European] Commission has brought forward a proposal to criminalize the evasion of sanctions. Meaning that if somebody tries in the future to circumvent sanctions or to move funds — maybe give them to a relative, things like that — this would be a criminal offense in the EU, and this would enable the authorities to confiscate such assets.”
((NARRATION))
But changing legislation is a slow process. The legislation needs to be submitted by the European Commission and approved by both the European Parliament and the European Council, which means the law probably won’t be passed until at least this fall.
Another question is what to do with Russian frozen state assets. According to the EU,
about two-thirds of the $300 billion of Russian Central Bank reserves frozen in G7 countries, the EU and Australia are currently held in the European bloc.
In February,
((Mandatory courtesy: Audiovisual.ec.europa.eu))
Sweden’s prime minister said that in principle, it would be fair to use these assets to help fund Ukraine’s
((End courtesy))
reconstruction. Sweden holds the presidency of the EU Council through June.
But there are concerns that using the assets to rebuild Ukraine could create a dangerous precedent.
Olena Pavlenko is president of DiXi Group, a Ukranian think tank.
((Olena Pavlenko, DiXi Group, President)) ((ENG)) ((Zoom))
“On the international level, every country is afraid that the same might happen with its money. // But the solution exists – the creation of a special tribunal that will work in the EU. And its decision – not the case for every country, but for this particular war – will be a possibility of the argument for the national governments to seize sovereign Russian money.”
((NARRATION))
And while there is no special tribunal yet, the EU is looking at ways to invest frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine. One potential proposal is channeling any interest generated by the frozen assets to Ukraine.
((For Valentina Vasileva in Brussels, Belgium, Anna Rice, VOA News)
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Brussels, Belgium
Embargo DateMay 14, 2023 17:42 EDT
Byline
For Valentina Vasileva in Brussels, Belgium,
Anna Rice, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - Africa, Voice of America - English
