An element of the package will streamline the federal government’s efforts to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs by setting up a new administrative procedure through the Treasury and the Department of Justice “to confiscate property in the United States belonging to Russians and “It would be a criminal offense for people to ‘knowingly or intentionally possess products that come directly from corrupt transactions with the Russian government.’ The proposal will also help direct revenue from “embezzled funds related to corruption, sanctions and breaches of export controls and other specific offenses to repair the damage of Russian aggression against Ukraine”, with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and the State to cooperate in these efforts. Earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Biden government would support legislation that would allow some of the proceeds of the confiscation of assets seized by the Russian Ministry of Justice to “go directly to Ukraine.” The proposed package would allow a “declaration of assets that Russian oligarchs could use to facilitate sanctions avoidance”, a change from current US law that only allows the US to deduct revenue from sanctions violations. It will also categorize tax evasion as “blackmail”, extend the statute of limitations to prosecute money laundering based on foreign crime from five to 10 years, and strengthen the US ability to work with allies and partners to recovery of assets linked to foreign corruption. The president announced last week that the United States would send an additional $ 800 million in military aid to Ukraine as Russia re-focuses its campaign to seize new territory in the east of the country. Biden argued that Russia’s war had entered what he called a “critical window”, making Western military aid even more substantial. If approved, the package announced last week would mean that the United States has pledged about $ 3.4 billion in aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. The president said the package announced last week included heavy artillery, dozens of projectiles – 144,000 rounds of ammunition for these shells and more regular drones.
The United States announced earlier this month another $ 800 million security assistance package. This package included Mi-17 helicopters, Switchblade drones, chemical attack protection equipment, Javelin anti-tank missiles, M113 armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft radar and body armor and helmets. In addition to military aid to Ukraine, the United States and its NATO allies have issued a series of sanctions against Russia. The United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada have imposed sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and banned some Russian banks from SWIFT, a network of high-security institutions in 200 countries. Biden has announced a ban on imports of Russian oil, gas and coal into the United States. The House of Representatives also approved a bill to suspend normal trade relations with Russia. This story has been updated with additional information.