White House proposes legislation to use from Russian oligarchs’ assets to provide military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine

On Thursday, the White House unveiled a proposed legislative package that would allow the federal government to sell assets seized from Russian oligarchs as a result of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and use the proceeds to provide military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

The proposal comes after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly urged the Biden administration on Wednesday to liquidate the seized assets in order to assist Ukraine.

It includes provisions that would streamline the process of seizing the assets of oligarchs, broaden the assets subject to seizure, and close certain sanction evasion loopholes.

The US has already seized assets worth millions of dollars from wealthy Russians with close ties to President Vladimir Putin. It and other governments hope that putting financial pressure on those individuals will result in political pressure on Putin, potentially limiting his power.

The House of Representatives voted to approve a request for the sale of Russian assets seized by European countries after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

More than a dozen yachts, worth approximately $2.5 billion, belonging to Russian oligarchs have been seized in several countries worldwide since the armed conflict started, and more are expected to be seized.

European Union member states have reported freezing over $30 billion in assets, including almost $7 billion in real estate and artwork.