Belgium expresses support for confiscation of frozen russian assets

Belgium is not against confiscating the frozen assets of the russian central bank worth 280 billion euros, but there should be a precise mechanism, for example, using the assets as collateral to raise funds for Ukraine. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Kroo announced this in Davos.

According to De Kroo, Belgium is ready to discuss what to do with the interest on frozen russian assets and the assets themselves.

As noted, the lion's share of the assets - essentially securities in which the central bank of the russian federation invested - are frozen in Euroclear, a depository in Brussels. Some of the securities are redeemable and therefore convertible into cash, a transaction that is taxed at 25%, De Croo said.

"If there is any taxable income, we segregate it so that it can go to Ukraine," he said.

According to him, the tax on frozen assets amounted to about 1.3 billion euros in 2023, and in 2024 it will be about 1.7 billion euros.

Source: Reuters