Canada Blocks Further $320m Russian Assets

“As part of the economic sanctions against Russia for supporting Ukraine, Russian assets worth more than 413 million Canadian dollars (about $320 million) have been blocked in Canada,” the Canadian Mounted Police has reported.

“From February 24 to August 9, a total of 122.3 million Canadian dollars were frozen and transactions worth $290.7 million dollars were suspended in Canada, in accordance with the prohibitions set forth in the Special Economic Measures Act against Russia,” the statement said.

The police emphasized that they regularly receive new information, so they will constantly update the data.

On June 24, the Senate of Canada approved a draft law that provides for the confiscation and sale of assets of persons responsible for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Canada became the first country to legalize such a mechanism.

In March, the US Department of Justice announced the creation of KleptoCapture, a unit to search for assets of Russian officials and oligarchs who are trying to hide money from sanctions. On April 26, US Attorney General Merrick Garland supported the transfer of the confiscated assets of Russian oligarchs directly to Ukraine.

At the end of April, the House of Representatives approved a draft law providing for the confiscation of frozen assets of Russians subject to sanctions. It is proposed that the withdrawn funds will be used to provide additional military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

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According to Josep Borrell, the head of EU diplomacy, European countries should consider withdrawing the frozen assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and using them to rebuild Ukraine after the war.

On May 25, the European Commission proposed simplifying the confiscation of Russian assets and recognizing the evasion of sanctions as an EU crime.

Poland, Great Britain, Ireland, the Baltic States, and Slovenia all supported the idea of using frozen Russian assets for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.