While the lion’s share of Russian assets — €185 billion — is frozen in the EU at Belgium-based depository Euroclear, around £25 billion is held in the U.K.
This £25 billion would fund the U.K. “reparations loan” scheme, which the country’s finance ministry said would “work in lockstep” with the EU program. It added that the proposals “under consideration” could “unlock financing up to the full value of the assets held in the U.K.”
Under a proposed EU scheme, Brussels would issue up to €172 billion in loans to Ukraine by swapping Russian cash linked to the immobilized Russian assets for zero-interest bonds.
The EU hopes that, by replacing the cash with EU-backed IOUs, the proposal would avoid accusations of confiscating the money outright. But Euroclear, the private depository holding the Russian assets, has warned against any policy that would expose it to legal risk or compromise financial integrity.
Reeves said on Saturday that the U.K. “will only consider options in line with international law and that are economically, and financially responsible.”
Europe is scrambling to drum up more financing for Ukraine which faces a budget shortfall next year.