For Channel 24, the Head of the Institute Tetiana Khutor talked about the current situation with the confiscation of Russian assets in Ukraine and how to improve the existing recovery mechanisms

The process of confiscation of Russian assets in Ukraine is ongoing.

So far, 22 decisions of the HACCU have been made to seize assets of Russian oligarchs, MPs, rectors, the Moscow Stock Exchange, fugitive President Yanukovych, and collaborators Saldo and Martyanova, and 3 more lawsuits are pending.

Despite the existence of such decisions, no assets have been sold or otherwise effectively used to generate income to compensate for losses.

This demonstrates the need for special regulation on the handling of recovered assets to ensure that these processes are quick and efficient.

Why have the assets of all Russian oligarchs not been recovered yet?

Firstly, asset recovery can only be applied to Russians who have significantly contributed to the aggression against Ukraine. Second, such persons must have assets in Ukraine. Thirdly, to find evidence, it is necessary to send and wait for responses to dozens of requests, process thousands of pages of documents, and uncover complex corporate schemes to hide assets.

The oligarchs will likely appeal the HACC's decision to international institutions, including the European Court of Human Rights. The grounds for this may be cases of non-compliance with the ECHR and relevant ECtHR case law, in particular about fair trial standards. To minimize the risks of a successful appeal, the existing mechanism needs to be improved, and the necessary draft law has already been registered in parliament.

About state assets, the property and assets of two Russian banks have been recovered, bringing UAH 28 billion to the budget, which is already being used for reconstruction. However, over the past 9 months, this process of recovery has stopped altogether, and more than 900 objects of Russian property remain unconfiscated

Read more about this and how to improve the situation in the article by Tetyana Khutor for Channel 24