MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. The probability of confiscation of Russian assets in the United States may increase in the fall of 2024, after the US elections, Director of the Department for External Restrictions Control of the Russian Finance Ministry Dmitry Timofeev said.

"After the elections, this brake (reluctance to destabilize the world economy - TASS) will disappear, and the ‘collective Biden’ may decide to escalate, especially if [Donald] Trump wins. There will be a period when Biden will have power, when he will be able to turn over the ‘game board’. Therefore, late fall will be a critical period when the likelihood of confiscation of Russian assets will increase," Timofeev explained.

At the same time, the assets in the West could be lost to Russia forever, he emphasized. "It is unlikely that anyone expects the West to return the money to Russia in the foreseeable future. We can generally honestly say that this money is lost to us for a long time, if not forever," Timofeev said.

The European Union, Canada, the United States, and Japan froze Russia's assets in the amount of about $300 bln after the start of its special military operation.

In particular, about 210 bln euro of Russian state assets are blocked in the EU. The EU Council also obliged all European financial institutions to transfer income from the reinvestment of Russian assets twice a year to the European Commission, which will then allocate 90% of these funds to weapons for Kiev and 10% to economic assistance programs for Ukraine. The EC expects to collect 2.5-3 bln euro per year this way. The first withdrawal is planned for July 2024.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier that Russia has the means to respond similarly in the event of illegal use of its assets by Western countries.