Putin signs tit-for-tat decree allowing Russia to seize Americans' assets

President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree permitting Russia to confiscate the assets of U.S. companies and individuals if Russian assets are seized in the United States.

The decree appeared on the Russian government's legal portal on Thursday, coinciding with a meeting of top finance officials from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations.

These officials are discussing the fate of Russian assets frozen in the West.

Ukraine and many of its friends want to take $260 billion from Russia's frozen assets outside the country after Russia invades Ukraine on February 24, 2022. However European leaders did not agree because of legal and financial problems.

In April, President Joe Biden of the United States signed a law called the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act. The law lets the US government take about $5 billion of Russia's assets in America. It's part of a financial help plan for Ukraine, giving them about $61 billion for defence.

But even with this law, it is unlikely that the US will take Russia's assets without agreement from other powerful countries like those in the G7 and the European Union.

President Putin has made a new rule. According to the new decree, Russian businesses, banks, and people can ask Russian courts to say that confiscating their assets in the US was unfair. If the court agrees, a government group will give them other assets as payback. This could be assets owned by Americans in Russia, like their houses or company shares.