IMF warns of risks due to Western plans for Russian assets

IMF warns of risks due to Western plans for Russian assets

IMF: Western plans to confiscate Russian assets could undermine the currency system

Western plans to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine could undermine the global monetary system, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Communications Director Julie Kozak said at a briefing.

“It is important for the fund that any action taken has a sufficient legal basis and does not undermine the functioning of the international monetary system,” she said in response to a question from reporters about the West’s intention to use immobilized Russian reserves.

Assessing the prospects of reaching an agreement on the assets at the G7 ministerial meeting in Italy, Kozak emphasized that this decision should be taken by the relevant courts and jurisdictions.

After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries froze almost half of Russia’s foreign currency reserves worth about 300 billion euros. About 200 billion euros are held by the EU, mostly in the accounts of Belgium’s Euroclear, one of the world’s largest settlement and clearing systems.

Until recently, members of the community discussed ways to use frozen Russian assets only to finance the reconstruction of the post-Soviet republic. The ECB, in particular, warned that using these funds to support the Ukrainian armed forces posed reputational risks for the European currency in the long term.

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