As leaders debate how to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, they should at last clean up and escrow the management of the $300 billion in Russian assets that have been frozen for nearly three years. Since their seizure, the political and financial circumstances have completely changed. Only about half the assets are now in the Eurozone; none are being effectively managed. This report provides new details about the situation and a concrete proposal for action.
Key Takeaways
- In the political moves of 2025, transferring Russian assets creates options either with or without a settlement. A giveback of the Russian assets would be a sucker’s play: The assets are the last reservoir of hope for Ukrainian and European recovery. The offer to Russia should instead focus on future sanctions relief.
- The frozen Russian assets have now turned to cash being managed in more than a dozen countries in at least eight different currencies—only about half still in the Eurozone. This dispersed cash management is in terrible shape, losing billions of dollars’ worth of victims’ money per year, millions lost every day.
- The banks managing the approximately $300 billion are not to blame. They are not allowed to manage the money on behalf of the Russian state. They have no guidance on how to manage the money for anyone else. States put them in this legal netherworld. States should now provide a roadmap for resolution of these sanctioned accounts.
- A concrete path is available. The money can be segregated in transparent, clean accounts. Then it can be escrowed in an international trust fund, invested to benefit Russia’s victims, both in and out of Ukraine, pending final resolution and distribution.
Cite this essay:
Philip Zelikow. “A Fresh Look at the Russian Assets: A Proposal for International Resolution of Sanctioned Accounts.” Hoover Institution Essay. Hoover Institution Press, January 2025.
