Ukraine this year expects to receive about $4 billion from Russian assets frozen in the West. In general, within four years, Ukraine can receive $15-18 billion. Deputy Minister of Justice Irina Mudraya said this in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
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To do this, you need to go through several stages, she explained. Zero – determine in which institutions these funds are concentrated. This has already been done. First, the European Commission has already made a decision: all accrued interest must be placed in one institution. The second is the introduction of legislation in the EU, which allows the transfer of these funds to Ukraine.
“We had negotiations with representatives of Belgium, which currently chairs the EU Council. There is cautious optimism that the EU Council will accept decision by the end of June 2024. If the decision is made, then Ukraine will receive interest on assets that were repaid in 2024,” noted the Deputy Minister of Justice.
Mudraya reported that the transfer of already accrued interest for 2022-2023 is also being discussed. These funds are located in Belgium, and in 2022 a 25% tax was imposed on them (about €1.7 billion). The Belgian government uses these funds to pay Ukrainian refugees, provide humanitarian aid, etc., she explained.
According to Mudra, funds for 2023 have not yet been taxed. Negotiations are currently underway to impose a 100% tax on these funds and transfer them to Ukraine. We are talking about €4.4 billion. To transfer these funds, only the decision of the Belgian government is sufficient.
