G7 discuss options for transferring frozen Russian assets to Ukraine

The Group of Seven (G7) countries are discussing how to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by The Japan Times.

"The Group of Seven is discussing ways of transferring to Ukraine the Russian assets seized following the invasion by Moscow, with legal complexities and domestic restrictions making it difficult to do the transfers," a source familiar with the discussion said.

According to JT, one of the approaches discussed during the G7 meeting has been to target the income generated from those assets, as a means of bypassing some legal hurdles.

The key factor is the U.S. announcement that it has authorized the transfer of confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine for the first time, and after that, some progress has been made in the process.

“While this represents the United States’ first transfer of forfeited Russian funds for the rebuilding of Ukraine … it will not be the last,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

The joint REPO (Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs) task force, consisting of finance, justice, trade and home affairs ministers as well as EU commissioners, has so far frozen or blocked more than $58 billion worth of sanctioned Russian assets. REPO comprises G7 countries as well as Australia and the EU.

It is noted that the meeting of finance ministers and central bankers ends on Saturday, but sanctions against Russia are expected to be a key topic of discussion during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima next week.

Author – Anastasiya Glotova, 12/05/2023