Armin Steinbach, a professor of law and economics at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Paris, said in an article for the Figaro newspaper that Russia’s asset confiscation would hit the European Union, but the United States does not care.
He noted that Russia’s retaliatory measures would primarily affect Europe. For example, the EU holds more than €200bn in Russian reserve assets, which is much more than the amount kept by Washington.
In addition, Russia’s withdrawal of funds would undermine investor confidence in the European Union as a guarantor of property rights, something Steinbach said the US is not very concerned about.
“If the US has few interests at stake, it would be tantamount to shooting itself in the foot for the EU,” he wrote.
Earlier, the Ukrainian National Agency for Asset Search and Management received UAH 23m ($588,000) seized from the accounts of companies whose ultimate owners were Russians.
As Politico reported on 3 April, citing officials, Russia’s allies are urging the European Union not to confiscate its frozen assets.