Canada to seize assets of Russian oligarch Abramovich, proceeds may be used to help rebuild Ukraine

According to Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Ottawa will seize and pursue the forfeiture of US $26 million from Granite Capital Holdings Ltd., a company owned by Abramovich. This means that Minister Joly will now consider making a court application to forfeit the asset permanently to the Crown.

If forfeited, the proceeds that are generated will be able to be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine and compensation to victims of the Putin regime’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion.

“Canada will continue to pressure the Russian regime and those who have benefited from Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. As Ukrainians continue to fight valiantly to reclaim the land that is rightfully theirs, we reaffirm our commitment to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Joly noted.

According to Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Putin’s oligarchs are complicit in Russia’s illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine.

“Canada will not be a haven for their ill-gotten gains, and today’s announcement demonstrates our determination to ensure that Russia’s elites pay the price for their support of Putin’s brutal regime. It is just and appropriate for Russian assets to be used to help rebuild Ukraine,” Freeland stressed.

This is the first time that Canada is using its new authorities that allow the government to pursue the seizure of assets belonging to sanctioned persons.

Canada is the first G7 country to implement such measures, demonstrating its strong commitment to Ukraine, its reconstruction and holding accountable those who have profited from and supported Putin’s regime, the Government of Canada emphasized.

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