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US Treasury Secretary admits legal obstacles on seizure of Russian assets — Reuters

Speaking about Kiev’s calls to impose sanctions against the Russian nuclear energy sector, Janet Yellen noted that the potential consequences for Washington's allies should be considered

WASHINGTON, February 27. /TASS/. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted that there are serious obstacles to confiscate major frozen Russian assets, Reuters reported on Monday during an unannounced trip to Kiev. Yellen was talking to reporters during her unannounced trip to Kiev.

"We have on this small scale, seized assets, but there are certainly legal challenges in doing more than that," she said talking about Russian funds that the United States would like to transfer to the Ukrainian authorities. According to Yellen, there are "significant legal obstacles" to confiscating major frozen Russian assets.

The news agency notes that "Washington has confiscated assets used in criminal activity." However, there are difficulties with the confiscation of funds of the Bank of Russia and other large pools of assets.

Speaking about Kiev’s calls to impose sanctions against the Russian nuclear energy sector, Yellen noted that the potential consequences for Washington's allies should be considered.

In January, a spokesman for the US Department of Justice said that US authorities intend to begin transferring part of the confiscated assets to Russia in favor of Ukraine in the near future.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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