Bill to transfer confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine presented in Washington
This is stated in an official statement released on Thursday, June 15, on the website of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ukrinform reports.
"Over a year into Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, more than $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets remain frozen globally. Given Russia’s brutality and continued war crimes against the Ukrainian people, it is only right that Russian government funds in the United States be seized and repurposed to help Ukraine rebuild its country," U.S. Senator Jim Risch said.
His colleague from the Democratic Party, who also authored the document, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, for his part, noted that hundreds of billions of dollars would be spent on rebuilding Ukraine.
"The bipartisan REPO Act would ensure the United States—as the lynchpin of the transatlantic alliance—can take a leadership role in making that happen," the lawmaker emphasized.
The draft law provides the U.S. president with the authority to confiscate Russian sovereign assets frozen in the U.S. and transfer them to rebuild Ukraine. It also prohibits the transfer of funds to Russian organizations under sanctions. In addition, the document instructs the president to work with allies and partners to create an international compensation mechanism to transfer confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine.
The Act also provides the U.S. State Department with additional resources to work with partners abroad to confiscate additional Russian sovereign assets in other countries.
"This legislation ensures Putin – not U.S. taxpayers – foots the bill for the damage caused by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine," the statement reads.
The bill was introduced on Thursday in the U.S. Senate by Jim Risch and Sheldon Whitehouse, and in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Michael McCaul, Marcy Kaptur, Joe Wilson, Steve Cohen, Thomas Kean Jr., Mike Quigley, and Brian Fitzpatrick.
