The scheme is likely to be approved by the government “in the coming weeks,” Tallinn says
Estonia announced on Tuesday that it has become the first European country to devise a legal scheme allowing it to channel frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, the news website Postimees reported.
According to the plan drawn up by the Estonian Foreign Ministry, Russian assets seized in Estonia should start working for the reconstruction of Ukraine “in advance.”
The outlet reported that if Russia agrees to pay for damage caused in Ukraine, in the future Moscow could receive compensation for property confiscated in Estonia.
“The decision is almost ready, it was discussed in the Cabinet of Ministers, but some details still need to be clarified. We can also show other countries how such a solution can work legally,” the news outlet cited Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as saying.
She added that the plan should receive government approval “in the coming weeks,” thus introducing a way for seized Russian money to be handed over to Kiev.
Estonia has frozen €34.5 million ($37.7 million) of Russian assets since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, including more than €8.7 million ($9.5 million) blocked by the customs and tax department, according to the country’s anti money laundering bureau.
Lawmakers from across the EU have for several months been debating the legality of seizing Russian holdings and sending them to Ukraine, with many pointing out that the EU legal system only allows such assets to be frozen, not expropriated.
Senior German government officials recently voiced doubts that the EU plan could win sufficient support, due to the legal risks.
A number of countries, including Switzerland, have expressed concerns that the confiscation of Russian money could set a precedent for Western assets held overseas to be seized, and could also jeopardize investor confidence in the European banking system.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned the EU’s seizure of its assets as theft. While addressing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the measure as “medieval.”
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