According to the official website of the Ministry of Justice, the measure refers to foreign funds registered in the Russian Federation, and linked to “hostile” countries that carry out or participate in activities that the Russian government qualifies as unfriendly, as is the case of seeking to seize Russian assets.

As approved, the funds to which the measure could be imposed are divided into five categories: movable property, immovable property, securities, shares in statutory (contributed) capital of Russian legal entities, and property rights.

Interim external management will be carried out by the Federal Agency for State Property Management (RosImushchestvo).

The document mentions in its preamble that the signing of the decree is due to “the need to respond to hostile actions contrary to international law by the United States and other states to illegally deprive and limit the property rights of the Russian Federation.

The special working group will study the location of the assets and their price and analyze the possibilities and convenience of their use, including legal, economic and political aspects.

Following the same reasoning, the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, described the freezing of Russia’s assets in Europe, as theft.

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