Biden to ask Congress for new powers to seize Russian assets — RT Russia & Former Soviet Union

The US president is expected to formally ask lawmakers to give him the authority to seize “oligarch assets” and “enable the proceeds to flow to Ukraine”

US President Joe Biden will officially ask Congress later on Thursday to grant him the authority to seize the assets of wealthy individuals believed to have links to the Kremlin and use them to help Ukraine, the White House has revealed in a statement.

Biden is expected to propose a “comprehensive legislative package that will enhance the United States Government’s authority to hold the Russian government and Russian oligarchs accountable for President Putin’s war against Ukraine.” The measures would result in the “forfeiture of property linked to Russian kleptocracy,” allowing the US government to “use the proceeds to support Ukraine.”

Under the proposal, authorities would be able to impound property in the US “owned by sanctioned Russian oligarchs and that has a connection to specified unlawful conduct.” Moreover, Biden wants to make it a crime “for any person to knowingly or intentionally possess proceeds directly obtained from corrupt dealings with the Russian government.” The statement released by the White House, however, does not specify what criteria would be used to determine which dealings could be classified as “corrupt.”

To be “forfeited” under Biden’s proposal is also property “that Russian oligarchs use to facilitate the evasion of sanctions” – something that US law currently does not allow for. In addition, the US president is expected to ask lawmakers to add sanctions evasion to the definition of “racketeering activity.”

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