The United States has suggested that G7 countries form working groups to explore the possibility of confiscating $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, according to the Financial Times.
Supported by the UK, Japan, and Canada, the US has proposed beginning preliminary work so that G7 leaders would have various options to consider at a potential meeting around February 24.
The report indicates that around $5 billion of the Russian assets are located in American institutions, with the rest primarily in U.S. dollars, both within the US and Europe.
The US has jurisdiction over transactions in its currency and can use sanctions to freeze assets denominated in U.S. dollars.
A significant portion of the Russian assets are in Europe, mainly in Switzerland and Belgium, which are not G7 members. Diplomatic discussions with these countries are currently underway.
Last month, Switzerland froze $8.81 billion in financial assets belonging to Russians as part of sanctions imposed in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
This provisional estimate reflects a slight increase from the 7.5 billion francs frozen in the previous year when Switzerland adopted European Union sanctions.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the agency responsible for overseeing sanctions, noted that the 7.7 billion francs figure is a preliminary estimate and is subject to change.
