U.S. Banks Ordered To Disclose Russian Assets For Ukraine Aid

The Biden administration on Tuesday formally ordered the nation’s financial industry to start disclosing its holdings of Russian assets, with the goal of eventually seizing those billions of dollars in assets and selling them to aid the devastated Ukrainian economy, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The move came just a day after President Joe Biden signed a memorandum to the Secretaries of State and Treasury regarding the implementation of the law known as the REPO Act, recently passed by the Congress, which gives the U.S. government the authority to seize Russian state assets held by U.S. banks, with the goal of eventually selling them and giving those funds to Ukraine.

"We’re working very hard to execute the responsibilities delegated to us by the President," State Department's Spokesperson Matthew Miller told Tuesday's briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.  "There’s important work we have to do, and we want to get that work done as quickly as possible.  We want to get it right and be thorough," he added.

The Treasury Department in a release said that U.S. financial institutions will need to report Russian assets on their books no later than Aug. 2 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. If a bank discovers any new Russian assets on their books after the deadline, those assets need to be reported within 10 days.

“Congress took an important step with the passage of the REPO for Ukrainians Act to unlock the value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s continued resilience and reconstruction,” said Acting General Counsel of the Treasury Addar Levi. “The United States will continue to work with our foreign partners, including the G7, to deliver support to Ukraine.”

While the vast bulk of Russian assets are held in Europe, it is estimated that the U.S. banking system holds about $6 billion in Russian assets in trust.