Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine Looking to Auction Seized Russian Assets for Reconstruction

The head of the Ukrainian State Property Fund has said they hope to auction off the confiscated Russian assets in an effort to shore up funds for the country’s reconstruction. However, the process of doing so has been long and complicated as asset owners could still seek to challenge such moves in the courts.

Ukrainian state property fund chief Rustem Umerov told Reuters that the agency is hoping to auction off some of the Russian assets that Kyiv has confiscated as a result of sanctions imposed by the government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Kyiv has not only imposed sanctions on Russia but also opened court cases to confiscate assets held by the Russian state in Ukraine and by businessmen with ties to the Kremlin.

“Russian business in some industries was a significant market player, some say that they had a huge market share. But no one has estimated the exact value of these assets,” said Umerov. “Our goal is to take it all into state ownership, prepare it, and sell it. We want these enterprises to work for the state of Ukraine, for the Ukrainian citizens.”

Identifying Russian assets in Ukraine is a long and complicated process due to all the red tape involving various governments and law enforcement institutions. This year, the Ukrainian state property fund is looking to sell 102 confiscated Russian assets, which are mostly cars and real estate.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued decrees to impose sanctions on hundreds of Russian citizens, including oligarchs who have assets that are among the largest in Ukraine, for alleged connections to Russia’s invasion.

On Wednesday, United States Attorney General Merrick Garland authorized the first transfer of funds seized from Russian oligarchs for Ukraine’s reconstruction. Garland said in a statement that the funds were seized from oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev and will go to Ukraine.

“While this represents the United States’ first transfer of forfeited Russian funds for the rebuilding of Ukraine, it will not be the last,” said Garland.

Malofeyev was charged by the DOJ last year with breaching the sanctions imposed on Russia. Prosecutors said Malofeyev funded Russians who were promoting separatism in Crimea.

Photo by Dn.gov.ua/Wikimedia Commons(CC by 2.0)