Biden Transfers Powers on Ukraine to Treasury and State Secretaries
US President Joe Biden has announced the transfer of his powers under the law to support Ukraine, including provisions on the confiscation of sovereign Russian assets, to the secretaries of the Treasury and State.
On April 20, the US House of Representatives approved the repo bill as part of a US aid package for Ukraine.
The law gives the Biden administration the authority to seize billions of dollars of Russian assets frozen in US banks, with the aim of converting them into two Ukraine reconstruction funds: The Compensation Fund and the Ukraine Support Fund, according to the United States.
In a statement released by the White House, Biden said, “I delegate to the Secretary of the Treasury the functions and powers vested in the President under sections 104 (a) (1) and 104 (a) (2) (a) of the Restoring Economic Prosperity and Opportunity to Ukrainians Act”.
“I authorize the Secretary of State to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury the functions and powers granted to the President under sections 104(g), 104(i), 105(c), 105(e), and 105(g) of the Economic and Opportunity Act for Ukrainians, in particular with regard to the confiscation of Russian sovereign assets for transfer to Ukraine,” he added.
On May 21, the Council of the European Union formally approved a resolution allowing the use of income from frozen Russian assets to provide military assistance to Ukraine.
Since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine 2022, the European Union and the G7 have frozen about half of Russia’s foreign currency reserves, amounting to about $325 billion.
Moscow has asserted that any attempts to confiscate Russian assets amount to theft and a violation of international law.
