Zelensky calls for seized Russian billions to rebuild Ukraine
Zelensky calls for seized Russian billions to rebuild Ukraine
President Zelensky has called for some of the Russian billions seized by world banks to be sent to rebuild Ukraine.
The G7 group is considering taking only the rise in value and interest due since the assets were frozen in 2020.
But the Ukrainian president told the BBC all of the money should be used. "If the world has $300bn - why not use it?", he said.
The BBC understands central bankers in Europe have concerns over undermining banks' safe haven status.
I love that capitalism is more concerned about setting precedent here than saving lives, yet nonsense like civil forfeiture in the US leads to millions stolen from regular people each year. It's always only about whose bottom line is affected. Can't make a case for seizing foreign assets and redistributing them. That would mean everyone can do it and after all, it's a large club of very white gentlemen who have backroom agreements on this kind of stuff. If they do this with Russian assets, what's gonna stop China from doing the same with US assets!? How could we ever keep up with international trade and investments and tax evasion schemes, if we allow such horrible treatment of the most vulnerable billionaires of our society?
Shit's fucked.
If they seize US assets in China, we seize their assets in the US. Then we default on the $870 billion dollars in debt we owe to them, cut them off from American markets, and watch India become our biggest trading partner.
I don't know shit about finances or economics or markets, but this seems to make sense. That's probably why it makes sense to me in the first place.
It seems similar to mutually assured destruction, like the one that a nuclear arsenal poses, acting as a deterrent to all the parties involved. If you harm their market, they harm yours, and in this day and age, it's more disastrous than ever, perhaps.
The bigger problem is likely spread out across smaller markets, which, combined, net you a solid benefit and profit, but if some of they start using such precedents as an excuse to seize your assets for only their benefit and profit, they might lose less than you do, ultimately proving the concern in @AlteredStateBlob@kbin.social's comment above.
We might as well be discussing it in way more detail than the decision-makers here, as yeah, setting precedents that could (or could not) potentially harm their profits and leviathan wealth is a no-go for them.
If anyone could do it, people wouldn't trust foreign institutions as much and it'd heavily disincentivise investment, which would mean slowing down economy growth.
The same economy you as well are a part of.
Caveat, I would be ok with Russia not trusting foreign institutions. In fact I prefer it that way.
More like, what's gonna stop the US from seizing Chinese assets? Or, rather, why would anyone trust the US with their assets if they can just be seized when your country becomes politically problematic? The core point is that the only reason the west has so many foreign assets and investments is because the rest of the world trusts them not to be seized and sold off. It would be less damaging long term to just print more money.
Honestly, a regime should have to factor in the risk of losing all their money abroad if they start an illegal war or attempt genocide.
The theory of Europe relying on Russian gas as they joined the world economy was that mutual reliance prevents war because the consequences harm both sides.
Losing assets to the victims of the war you start would be a useful precedent to set and keep. The logic is the same.
The problem is that because sanctions hurt both sides we're still reluctant to use them.
We should have activated sanctions over the war in Georgia, or the first invasion of Crimea. Eventually we did as Russia marched on another Nation's capital.
Banks are never going to take an action that harms them. If we want to redirect the seized assets of Russia it will have to be governments which force them.