OREANDA-NEWS  The Russian authorities are preparing to adopt a mechanism that will allow the seizure of assets of unfriendly countries and related individuals involved in the freezing of the Central Bank's gold and foreign exchange reserves abroad. Izvestia writes about this. According to Vedomosti, the relevant bill was developed by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

According to journalists, the text of the document has already been agreed upon by the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and next week it will be reviewed by the government commission on legislative activity.

Currently, for the property of foreigners, the legislation provides only for the blocking of assets in type C accounts and the transfer of shares of companies to the temporary management of the state. Now it is planned to supplement such opportunities with confiscation. As follows from the draft law, the Russian Federation, the Bank of Russia, the federal executive authority designated by the government, or the Prosecutor General's Office will be able to file appropriate lawsuits with the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region.

When the property of an individual or a legal entity is included in the list to be compiled by the Board of Directors for Foreign Investments, foreign countries will become co-defendants in the lawsuit. The assets themselves will be able to be transferred to state ownership, and the value of the seized will be determined according to a special procedure. In this case, the court's decision will be subject to immediate execution, the article says.

The bill is planned to be adopted to implement the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin dated May 23 last year, which provides for a special procedure for compensation for damage caused in connection with the unfriendly actions of the United States. Now it is assumed that the mechanism will be able to be used in relation to assets that belong not only to Americans, but also to representatives of other states unfriendly to Russia.