June 25, 2024

Manchin, Graham, Boyle, Keating, Fitzpatrick Push For Floor Vote On Transferring Illicit Assets To Ukraine Act

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and U.S. Representatives Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Bill Keating (D-MA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) urged Congressional leaders to bring their bipartisan, bicameral Transferring Illicit Assets to Ukraine Act to the Senate and House floors. This legislation would expand the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) authority to transfer to Ukraine the proceeds of Russian assets forfeited due to sanctions or export control violations. This simple legislative fix would cost nothing for U.S. taxpayers as we continue to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom.

“DOJ has seized hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit assets that can be immediately transferred to Ukraine if authorized by Congress. This authority is distinct from – but would complement – the agreement struck by G7 leaders to use Russia’s sovereign assets as collateral for assistance to Ukraine. As Vladimir Putin intensifies his illegal invasion, we must use every available tool – particularly those with no cost to U.S. taxpayers – to support our Ukrainian allies,” the lawmakers wrote in part.

“Supporting Ukraine is the best investment to preserve the rules-based international order Americans fought and died to create. We strongly supported providing additional military aid for Ukraine as well as the REPO for Ukrainians Act, which is already being implemented. Now, Congress must also provide simple clarification that seized Russian oligarch assets may also be transferred to Ukraine,” the lawmakers continued.

The Transferring Illicit Assets to Ukraine Act would:

  • Allow the DOJ to transfer to Ukraine the proceeds of assets forfeited from violations of any sanction or export control involving Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (including the 2014 invasion of Crimea);
  • Require a report from the Attorney General, Secretary of the Treasury, and Secretary of State outlining a plan for using this new authority; and
  • Require semiannual reports from these same entities on the use of this authority for the benefit of Ukraine.

The original Senate version of this legislation passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January 2024 as an amendment to the REPO for Ukrainians Act and is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rick Scott (R-FL), James Risch (R-ID) and Chris Coons (D-DE).

The full letter is available below and here.

Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader McConnell, and Minority Leader Jeffries:

We respectfully request that you bring to the floor our bipartisan, bicameral Transferring Illicit Assets to Ukraine Act (S. 4438 / H.R. 7077), which would broaden the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)’s authority to transfer forfeited Russian oligarch assets to Ukraine. DOJ has seized hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit assets that can be immediately transferred to Ukraine if authorized by Congress. This authority is distinct from – but would complement – the agreement struck by G7 leaders to use Russia’s sovereign assets as collateral for assistance to Ukraine. As Vladimir Putin intensifies his illegal invasion, we must use every available tool – particularly those with no cost to American taxpayers – to support our Ukrainian allies in their fight for freedom.

Currently, DOJ’s forfeited asset transfer authority is limited to four specific Executive Orders. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco testified that due to the narrow scope of this authority, the U.S. is “leaving a lot of money on the table” and asked Congress to expand this transfer authority to cover export controls and other sanctions. For example, DOJ indicted Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch, in 2022 for a variety of sanctions violations and seized over $50 million of illicit assets. These assets cannot be transferred to Ukraine under current authority, but could be under the Transferring Illicit Assets to Ukraine Act. Our legislation expands DOJ’s asset transfer authority to cover assets forfeited pursuant to any economic countermeasures targeting Russia or Belarus since the illegal invasion of Ukraine began in 2014.

We commend your bipartisan leadership in standing up to Putin. Supporting Ukraine is the best investment to preserve the rules-based international order Americans fought and died to create.

We strongly supported providing additional military aid for Ukraine as well as the REPO for Ukrainians Act, which is already being implemented. Now, Congress must also provide simple clarification that seized Russian oligarch assets may also be transferred to Ukraine. The bipartisan, bicameral Transferring Illicit Assets to Ukraine Act is supported by DOJ and the State Department and was passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 24, 2024. Furthermore, the legislation respects the U.S. taxpayer by making Putin’s cronies pay for his barbaric war.

We respectfully request that you expeditiously bring the Transferring Illicit Assets to Ukraine Act to the floor. Thank you for your consideration.