Ein neuer Blick auf die russischen Vermögenswerte: Ein Vorschlag für die internationale Abwicklung sanktionierter Konten

In a new essay, [Philip Zelikow](https://www.hoover.org/profiles/philip-zelikow) argues for better management of Russian assets sanctioned since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He reports that the frozen Russian assets have now turned to cash being managed in more than a dozen countries in at least eight different currencies—only about half still in the Eurozone. This dispersed cash management is in terrible shape, losing billions of dollars’ worth of victims’ money per year, millions lost every day. In Zelikow’s view, the banks managing the approximately $300 billion are not to blame. They are not allowed to manage the money on behalf of the Russian state. They have no guidance on how to manage the money for anyone else. States put them in this legal netherworld. States should now provide a roadmap for resolution of these sanctioned accounts.

But a concrete path is available. The money can be segregated in transparent, clean accounts. Then it can be escrowed in an international trust fund, invested to benefit Russia’s victims, both in and out of Ukraine, pending final resolution and distribution.