A senior Russian lawmaker stated on Monday that Russia could now consider confiscating Western assets, following the passing of legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would potentially transfer seized Russian assets to Ukraine, as per the remarks made by Vyacheslav Volodin, the Duma speaker and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.
Volodin expressed concern that the U.S. law aimed to provoke the EU into taking similar actions, which he believed would have devastating effects on the European economy. He emphasized that Russia now had justification to take reciprocal actions against foreign assets.
Volodin noted that out of the approximately $280 billion of Russian assets frozen abroad, only a small fraction, around $5 to $6 billion, was located in the United States.
The "REPO Act," passed by the House, would enable the U.S. administration, led by President Joe Biden, to confiscate billions of dollars' worth of Russian assets held in U.S. banks and redirect them to Ukraine for reconstruction efforts.
