- Статьи
- World
- Law and disorder: Canada sets a precedent for the seizure of sovereign assets of the Russian Federation
Law and disorder: Canada sets a precedent for the seizure of sovereign assets of the Russian Federation
The upper house of the Canadian parliament resumed consideration of the draft on the seizure of Russia's sovereign assets, Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov told Izvestia. According to him, the country will continue to compare approaches with Brussels and can share legislative developments with it. There is no agreement in the EU on the use of Russian assets for a loan to Ukraine, Belgium, France and Italy are against it. The EC representatives intend to convince the Belgians in the coming days. And Brussels warned the rest that without the confiscation of Russian assets, they would have to support Kiev from their budgets. Russia has already formed a package of retaliatory measures in the event of a decision to confiscate assets, Stepanov stressed.
Confiscation of assets of the Russian Federation in Canada
The Canadian parliament resumed consideration of the draft on the seizure of sovereign assets of the Russian Federation, Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov told Izvestia.
— Canada is in the forefront on the topic of confiscation of Russian assets and can share its best practices with the Europeans. In particular, internally, through a legislative decision, it has invented unilateral tools that allow it to seize other people's private property. Currently, the Senate of the Canadian Parliament has resumed consideration of the draft on the withdrawal of sovereign assets. Surely, in this regard, Ottawa will continue to compare approaches with Brussels," the diplomat told Izvestia.
As a reminder, independent Canadian Senator Ratna Omidwar introduced bill S-278 back in October 2023. According to the document, the Government of Canada will be able to confiscate sovereign assets without a court decision. Right now, it is litigation that is holding Ottawa back from such a decision. After all, when the case goes to court, Moscow will be able to declare its immunity on the grounds that judges do not have the right to make a decision on any proceedings related to a foreign state.
The bill passed the first reading, but then it hung up — Ottawa clearly expected the outcome of the presidential race in the United States, as well as solutions to its own domestic political problems. Even the author of the bill has already left parliament. However, her initiative is now being considered in the second reading. In order to become law, the proposal must pass three readings in the Senate, then three readings in the House of Commons (lower house) and receive the approval of the monarch, King Charles III.
The House of Commons plays a leading role in the legislative process in Canada. However, even projects initiated in the Senate regularly become laws, Evgeny Khoroshilov, head of the Economic Research Department at the Institute of the United States of America and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.
— If a political decision on the confiscation of Russian assets is nevertheless made, the Canadian cabinet can blow the dust off bill S-278, or it can propose its own draft of the relevant law so that the laurels of an irreconcilable fighter against the Russian Federation do not go to an independent senator. In any case, we should not expect any difficulties with the passage of such a legislative initiative through both chambers of the Canadian Parliament. This is more of a technical issue. It's up to the political decision of Mark Carney's government," the expert noted.
Dmitry Volodin, a leading researcher at ISKRAN, emphasized in an interview with Izvestia that Mark Carney's current cabinet pays great attention to strengthening ties with the European Union. In particular, in June, Canada joined the EU's rearmament program. The reason is the sharp deterioration of relations with the United States after the election of President Donald Trump. Since the EU is actively discussing plans to confiscate Russian frozen assets and transfer them to Ukraine, the emergence of similar initiatives in Canada seems logical.
What kind of precedent can Canada set?
Even when introducing the bill, its author stressed that the purpose of the document is to set a precedent for other countries to follow her example. Ratna Omidvar believes that there is no need to fear Russian retaliation of a symmetrical nature, since Canadian direct and portfolio investments in the Russian Federation are extremely insignificant.
After the start of the CBR in February 2022, Western countries froze Russian sovereign assets in the amount of about $ 300 billion. Canadian experts believe that local financial institutions have assets of about $22 billion. However, there is no confirmation of this information. At the same time, Ottawa participates in the G7 mechanism to use the proceeds from these assets to finance a loan to Ukraine.
The total value of the frozen private assets is estimated by the Canadian authorities at $457 million. The main one is the AN—124 Ruslan aircraft operated by Volga-Dnepr Airlines, which has been arrested at Toronto Airport since February 2022. Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand recently announced her intention to "transfer" the Russian plane to Ukraine as "compensation for damage."
The Russian Ambassador to Canada stated that such actions are unacceptable and illegitimate, and the aircraft must be unconditionally returned to its owner with compensation for losses.
However, the Canadian authorities have already established a legal mechanism for the seizure of the aircraft. In 2022, the Law on Special Economic Measures of 1992 (SEMA) was amended to allow the confiscation of private assets through the courts. Two lawsuits are currently underway: one concerns the confiscation of the aircraft, and the second concerns $26 million from Granite Capital Holdings Ltd., owned by Roman Abramovich.
Georgy Ostapkovich, head of the HSE Center for Economic Studies and Economic Analysis, clarified to Izvestia that at the moment only Estonia has taken concrete steps towards confiscation. In May 2024, the Parliament of this country adopted a law that allows the use of frozen assets of Russian individuals and legal entities to "compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine." Nevertheless, Tallinn has not yet applied it in practice.
At the same time, there is case law in most developed countries, so the consequences of Canada's adoption of such a law will be serious.
— This will lead to lawsuits that will drag on for years. In addition, Russia will certainly take mirror measures," the expert explained.
Georgy Ostapkovich is confident that formal confiscation of the assets themselves is still unlikely, but they are unlikely to be returned on the horizon for at least 10 years. The West will delay this moment by using interest from these funds.
The European Commission can use the precedent created by Canada. Her proposed plan to use 140 billion euros from frozen assets of the Russian Federation to provide Ukraine with a "reparation loan" has faced resistance. According to media reports, Belgium (where most of the frozen assets are located), France and Italy are opposed. These countries are afraid of Russia's retaliatory actions.
According to Politico, European officials will again try to convince representatives of Belgium at a meeting on November 7. In addition, the EC has threatened EU countries that in the absence of agreements on the use of frozen Russian finances, they will have to provide support to Ukraine from their own budgets.
How will Russia respond
Russia has prepared a set of retaliatory measures in case the Canadian authorities decide to confiscate assets, Oleg Stepanov told Izvestia.
— It is hardly advisable to disclose them in advance. But it seems that all serious experts and sensible people understand that by engaging in or threatening theft and piracy, Western governments primarily undermine the credibility of themselves and their jurisdictions from a financial and legal point of view. They are already causing much more significant damage to themselves than the benefits from the potential theft of Russian assets," the diplomat stressed.
In early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly warned of the dangers of European ventures using other people's property. Moscow will not leave unanswered its plans to use its sovereign funds to finance Ukraine. Russia has a wide range of tools, including temporary management of the assets of companies from unfriendly countries or the transfer of assets to the ownership of the state and the Central Bank as compensation for seizures.
Although major Canadian players left the Russian Federation after the start of their operations, some small companies could continue their activities through local divisions or trading operations. As of mid-2025, about 39 active companies from Canada imported goods to Russia, which implies that they have certain logistical or trade interests.
However, the main consequence pointed out by opponents of Bill S-278 is the loss of confidence in Canada from emerging economies. This was pointed out, in particular, by former Finance Minister Joe Oliver and representatives of the financial community. Giving the government the authority to confiscate the property of other states without a court order will cause an outflow of Chinese and Indian investments, first of all. In 2023, China (including Hong Kong) invested about $34 billion in Canada, and India - $7 billion, increasing investments by almost 30%.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
