The United States figured out how to get $50 billion from Russian assets

The United States has proposed that other G7 members create a special purpose vehicle to issue bonds worth at least $50 billion backed by proceeds from frozen assets of Russian sovereignty. At the same time, the received funds can be used to support Ukraine. Bloomberg reported this on Thursday, March 21, citing people familiar with the plan.

It was noted that the proposal calls for the pooling of $280 billion of the Russian central bank’s assets, which are not being implemented by the G7 countries and the European Union, into an SPV, the profits from which will go to the so-called which are freedom bonds.

More than two-thirds of Russia’s fixed assets are blocked in the EU, where they generate about $3.6 billion in net revenues each year.

At the same time, the proceeds from the proposed bond offering would be roughly equal to the $60 billion in US aid that is still pending in Congress.

Discussions are at an early stage and ongoing, one of the sources said. Some G7 countries, including Germany and France, have expressed caution about the new idea. This idea could bring in more than $50 billion. Some EU countries, notably Estonia, have called on allies to be bolder and confiscate assets.

The G-7 had previously said the assets would remain frozen until Russia agreed to compensate Ukraine for the damage.

The G-7 allies have discussed a number of options in recent months on how to seize the frozen assets, but they remain at odds over European reluctance to do anything that could be seen as an effective seizure of assets. The EU fears this could cause legal problems, threaten the stability of the euro and provoke retaliation from Moscow.

It was previously reported that Hungary is blocking the confiscation of the Russian Federation’s frozen assets. They say that money should be used for anything, but not weapons for Ukrainians.

“Banknotes for weapons”: will Ukraine receive frozen assets of the Russian Federation