Denver — Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in introducing legislation to empower U.S. authorities to seize ill-begotten assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs, and direct the proceeds to benefit Ukrainian reconstruction and recovery. The legislation includes authorities President Biden requested in his plan to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked war on Ukraine. The Senators filed their legislation as an amendment to the pending National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), which is due for action later this year.
“Putin and his oligarchs are directly responsible for the illegal war in Ukraine and the death, destruction, and dislocation it has wrought,” said Bennet. “This bipartisan bill will make Putin and his inner circle pay by directing funds from their seized assets to the Ukrainian people for resettlement, reconstruction, and recovery.”
The Senators’ bipartisan legislation would create narrow, streamlined authorities to pursue forfeiture of oligarch property that has been linked to specified illegal acts. It includes a clear asset-forfeiture procedure that balances due process with the need to move swiftly and decisively to respond to the crisis in Ukraine.
Specifically, this amendment to the NDAA for FY23 will:
- Authorize the president to unlock certain authorities after declaring a national emergency finding the Russian government’s actions threaten the peace and security of Ukraine;
- Create a new administrative forfeiture procedure that allows seizure of property that is derived from proceeds relating to terrorism or other illegal acts;
- Ensure due process by requiring notice to the asset owner and providing judicial review, including a right to appeal;
- Establish venue for proceedings challenging forfeiture determinations in the District Court for the District of Columbia;
- Authorize proceeds from forfeited property to be used to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine; and
- Sunset this authority after three years.
This bill expands on bipartisan legislation that Bennet introduced earlier this year.