WASHINGTON — The US Department of Justice is trying to persuade Congress to give it additional powers to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
In December, Congress authorized the Justice Department to turn over the frozen assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs to the State Department to rebuild Ukraine.
But those powers only apply to assets seized in connection with violations of U.S. sanctions under certain presidential orders.
As a result, millions of dollars of Russian assets confiscated in violations of US export controls and other economic countermeasures cannot be transferred.
Now the Justice Department is asking Congress to expand the range of confiscated assets it can turn over to Ukraine for use in recovery.
“We will be leaving money on the table if we do not expand our ability to use the seized assets we receive by detecting export control violations and expanding the sanctions regime to which these powers of transfer of assets,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told the Senate. Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.
“Therefore, I urge Congress to give us additional powers so that we can also make the oligarchs pay for the restoration of Ukraine,” she added.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has prosecuted Russian oligarchs as part of the invasion response.
The law enforcement agency, shortly after the start of the invasion, established a task force to implement the massive US sanctions and export controls imposed against Russia.
Since then, the task force has blocked $500 million in assets belonging to Russian oligarchs and others who support Moscow and evade US sanctions and export controls, Monaco said.
Assets seized include a $300 million superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov and a $90 million yacht owned by fellow Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
The Justice Department has only once used powers granted to it by Congress to transfer frozen Russian assets.
In February, Garland authorized the transfer of $5.4 million seized from the bank account of Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev in Denver.
In addition to seizing the yachts and luxury homes of pro-Moscow oligarchs, Western governments have frozen more than $300 billion in Russian Central Bank assets.
Despite calls from U.S. lawmakers and others to transfer the assets to Ukraine, the United States and other G7 countries have agreed they will remain “frozen” until Russia halts its invasion.
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