Putin Allows US and American Property in Russia to Be Confiscated in Response to Russian Asset Seizures

Vladimir Putin has issued a decree that allows Russian courts to confiscate property of the United States and American citizens in retaliation for the seizure of Russian assets by the country's authorities.

According to the document, state representatives will have to apply to a Russian court. As compensation, they may be awarded "movable and immovable property," "securities, shares in the authorized capital of Russian legal entities," or "property rights" belonging to the United States or "U.S. persons."

The latter in the document include citizens and residents of the country, as well as those for whom the United States is a “place of registration,” “place of predominant business activity,” or “place of predominant profit-making.”

Since April 2023, another mechanism has been in effect in Russia, according to which Putin can transfer Russian divisions of Western companies to the “temporary management” of the Federal Property Management Agency. This also affected Danone , the Baltika beer company, and the Rolf car dealership of former deputy Sergei Petrov.

Putin's decree came after US President Joe Biden signed a law in April called the REPO Act ( .pdf ). It allows for the confiscation of Russian assets, including those of the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance or the Direct Investment Fund, under US jurisdiction. There was no mention of assets of individuals.

“The United States’ seizure and repurposing of Russian sovereign assets serves key U.S. national security objectives and is consistent with U.S. and international law,” the document said.

The Senate estimated the volume of Russian assets in the US at 5-8 billion dollars. At the G7 forum, speaking about the total size of frozen Russian assets, they cited the sum of 300 billion dollars. At the same time, in May, the EU countriesdecided not to confiscate, but to direct the income from the use of frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia to help Ukraine. According to their estimates, at first this will be about 3 billion euros per year.