Canadian sanctions against Moscow | A first confiscation of Russian assets

(Ottawa) Canada will freeze and confiscate US$26 million from Granite Capital Holdings, a company owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

This will be the first time that the Canadian government has used the new powers it has given itself by adopting the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, will have to submit a request to the court to permanently confiscate the property for the benefit of the Crown.

If the assets are confiscated, the proceeds could be used to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction and compensate victims of Russia’s invasion, a statement said Monday.

“From the start of the war, we warned Putin and his accomplices that they could not escape the consequences of their actions,” said the head of Canadian diplomacy in the same statement.

The government has given itself the power to freeze and confiscate the property and assets of sanctioned individuals thanks to new provisions presented in Chrystia Freeland’s federal budget last April.

“Russia’s elites are paying the price for supporting Putin’s brutal regime. It is right and proper that Russian assets be used to help rebuild Ukraine,” she said on Monday.

“It is right and appropriate that Russian assets be used to help rebuild Ukraine,” said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

Canada was the first G7 country to adopt such measures.

Billionaire Roman Abramovich is on Ottawa’s sanctioned list, allowing the government to move forward.