Moscow warns of retaliation if income from its assets is seized

MOSCOW: Russia has "significant amounts" of Western assets and property on its territory that could be targets for retaliation by Moscow if the West seizes income from Russian assets, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Leaders of the G7 agreed at a summit in Italy last week to use interest from Russian assets frozen in the West to provide a $50 billion loan to Ukraine. Russia says the action is illegal and will rebound against the West by undermining confidence in the global financial system.

"Our country has significant amounts of Western funds and property that are under Russian jurisdiction; all of this may be subject to Russian retaliatory policies and retaliatory actions," Zakharova told reporters. "Of course, no one will disclose the nature of these retaliatory actions to you."


Economists, lawyers and experts say one of Russia's most likely actions would be to confiscate foreign investors' financial assets and securities currently held in special "type-C" accounts, to which access has been blocked since the start of the war unless Moscow grants a waiver. Some $281 billion in Russian assets such as central bank reserves have been frozen under sanctions levied over its war in Ukraine.