Senate To Mark Up Bill To Authorise Transfer Of Russian Assets

The US Senate Foreign Relations committee is currently holding a closed-door business meeting to mark up the REPO Act - a bill which would authorise the President to transfer billions of dollars of frozen Russian central bank funds to Ukraine.

• The bill text (here) lists justifications including a UNGA resolution and ICC measure against Russia.
• Sponsor Senator James Risch (R-ID) said: “If Russia refuses to honor its moral and legal obligations to compensate Ukraine to help them rebuild, other countries can – and should – seize Russia’s sovereign assets and transfer them to Ukraine.”
• The bill would target roughly USD$300 billion in Russian central bank assets held in Western countries, frozen since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, as only a small portion of the frozen assets are held in the US - the majority is in Europe, in particular in Belgium - effective implementation would require buy-in from the EU.
• Legal and geopolitical implications: As Russia holds a United Nations Security Council veto, there is no chance the Council could impose internally recognised reparations on Moscow. There are also concerns that the US would be in violation of customary international law by confiscating funds as a third party to the conflict.
• The funds are likely fungible, and therefore could contribute to Kyiv's war effort and plug a major funding hole for the White House as Biden's USD$106b supplemental package remains stalled in Congress.
• On the down side, Russia may also be disincentivised from pursing a ceasefire if the fund transfer would be triggered at the resolution to the war.
• A Hill editorial outlines additional pitfalls.