Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland made a suggestion at the G7 summit (meeting of the major industrial nations): According to it, Russian oligarchs are afraid to distance themselves from the war because of the threat of retaliation from the Kremlin. To get back their frozen assets, they are willing to hand over a significant portion of their billions in wealth to the West.
The Handelsblatt quotes the Canadian politician as saying she called Russian oligarchs who are on the sanctions list – she reportedly told her six ministerial colleagues that those affected were very unhappy about this.
Beware of reprisals
In particular, concerns about the threat of Kremlin reprisals would make them unwilling to comment on the war of aggression. And this is despite the fact that some of them would not agree to what the Kremlin calls a “special operation”.
Money for reconstruction?
To get their frozen assets back, they are willing to relinquish a significant portion of their multi-billion dollar fortune to the West, Freeland said. Under the proposal, the money could then flow to Ukraine’s reconstruction fund.
In this way, the West would be spared heavy expropriation proceedings for Russian private assets, while Ukraine would receive a substantial cash injection.
Frozen assets, seized yachts
There are probably huge sums of money involved: in Austria alone 250 million euros have been frozen by oligarchs. In addition, five villas or other properties have been seized, as the federal government’s oligarch task force recently explained.
But the real assets will likely be elsewhere – in addition to the numerous luxury yachts in the world’s oceans, much of the Russian oligarch’s assets will likely be located in Switzerland.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
