The Canadian government plans to seize $26 million from a company owned by Russian-Israeli Jewish billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has already taken a severe financial hit since the start of Putin’s war in Ukraine
Canada has announced that it plans to seize $26 million from a company owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the federal government said.
The Canadians want to confiscate the money from Abramovich’s Granite Capital Holdings. This is Canada’s first attempt to seize assets belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch to punish Russia and its wealthy elite for invading Ukraine.
Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea football club which he was forced to sell, is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The foreign minister, Melanie Jolly, will now have to apply to the court to confiscate the assets. If the government is successful in its petition, the proceeds may be used for rehabilitation in Ukraine and compensation for the victims of Russia’s “illegal and unjustified” invasion, the government said, this is the first time that Canada has promoted such a move.
The foreign minister said in a statement: “From the beginning of the war, we warned Putin and his allies that they would not be able to hide from the consequences of their actions. Impunity was never an option, and Canada will continue to pressure the Russian regime and those who benefit from Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. While the Ukrainians continue to fight valiantly to to reclaim the land for themselves, we reaffirm our commitment to stand by Ukraine as long as it takes.”
Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, said in a statement: “Putin’s oligarchs are complicit in Russia’s illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine. Canada will not be a paradise for them, and our announcement demonstrates our determination to ensure that Russia’s elites pay the price for their support of Putin’s brutal regime. It is right and proper that Russian assets be used to help rebuild Ukraine.”
Since the invasion in late February, Canada has sanctioned more than 1,500 people from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.