Senators seek to reallocate Russian assets to Ukraine aid

The senses. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduce a bill to reallocate funds from seized Russian assets to a relief fund to benefit Ukrainian refugees and rebuild Ukraine, a learned Axios.

Why is this important: The bipartisan effort is another sign that Congress is watching closely the blizzard of sanctions imposed on Russia by the Biden administration. In this case, it also takes the next step to clarify who should benefit and how.

Driving the news: The bipartisan bill, dubbed the RELIEF for Ukraine Act, means reallocating elite luxury goods into emergency funds.

• It would direct money from the liquidation of assets seized by the Justice Department’s new KleptoCapture task force to a Ukrainian relief fund.
• This, in turn, would be used to support Ukrainian refugees, the reconstruction of Ukraine, and other efforts.
• The fund would be administered by the Department of State, in consultation with the US Agency for International Development.

The big picture: On March 2, just days after the Russian invasion began, Attorney General Merrick Garland launched Task Force KleptoCapture.

Its goal is to seize the assets of anyone who violates US sanctions and to prosecute banks or cryptocurrency exchanges that aid and abet Russian oligarchs.

• They target federal crime-related assets — like jets, yachts and luxury real estate of wealthy Russian businessmen that may have been obtained through criminal activity — and attempt to seize them through civil forfeitures. and criminal.
• Andrew Adams, federal prosecutor and co-head of the Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, is leading the effort.

What they say : “Right now Ukraine is experiencing the worst refugee crisis since World War II – they need our help,” said Portman, a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

• “One way to help is to move from freezing the assets of Russian oligarchs and wealthy citizens to seizing their assets, and providing that funding to the people of Ukraine to help with ongoing humanitarian efforts,” he added. .
• “Our bill makes [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the Russian oligarchs are paying the price by ensuring that funds from their seized assets go directly to the people of Ukraine to support them through many difficult years ahead of resettlement, reconstruction and recovery,” Bennett said.