Tuesday 14 March 2023 4:43 pm | Updated: Tuesday 14 March 2023 4:44 pm

Seize Russian cash in UK to fund rebuilding of Ukraine, MPs demand

Political Reporter

DONBASS, UKRAINE – FEBRUARY 15: Ukrainian Marines prepare their T-64 tank for action while dug in to a treeline on February 15, 2023 in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Russian forces have been attacking Ukrainian positions all across the country’s east in a winter offensive. Ukrainian tank commanders there said they are looking forward to the arrival of modern European and American tanks to upgrade their aging fleet of Soviet era vehicles. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

MPs are urging the government to seize Russian cash in the UK to help rebuild Ukraine after Putin’s invasion.

Frozen Russian assets should be seized and repurposed for reconstruction efforts, a debate in the House of Commons will argue this evening.

Foreign affairs select committee chairman, Alicia Kearns, said: “Russia must be held accountable for its war of annihilation, and using these funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine is the way to start.”

She added: “This is a matter of political willpower, and we can make it happen”.

More than £18bn of Russian-linked assets have already been frozen by the UK, while estimates from Ukraine put reconstruction costs as high as $1 trillion.

Vladimir Putin has said he is open to negotiations as the Ukraine War continues to go badly — MPs will call for the seizing of Russian state assets and the proceeds of crime to fund the rebuilding of Ukraine

Ukrainian parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuck has written to Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle urging the UK government to take action and seize Russian cash.

While 45 Ukrainian MPs signed a separate letter to prime minister Rishi Sunak calling for the same.

A group of Ukrainian MPs will be in the chamber to witness proceedings during the debate.

MPs will call for the seizing of Russian state assets held in the UK and the proceeds of crime from any sanctioned oligarchs found to have broken international law.

While an amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill to seize sanctioned oligarchs’ assets if they fail to disclose them is also under consideration.

Dame Margaret Hodge said: “45 Ukrainian politicians have today written to the prime minister urging him to not just freeze but seize Russian assets in the UK.”

Hodge, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on anti-corruption and responsible tax, added: ““They are completely right to do so. These assets can then be repurposed to rebuild Ukraine. The government must act now.”

And Simon Fell, fair business banking APPG co-chairman, said: “Putin’s assault on Ukraine is an assault on all of us.

“Putin and his war machine have torn Ukraine apart, so they can pay for it to be put back together.”

A spokesperson for the international Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs task force (REPO), said last week that it “continues to leverage financial intelligence, law enforcement information, joint investigations, and the assistance of the private sector to deny the Kremlin access to the revenue streams and economic resources Russia uses to wage its illegal war”.