Canada’s federal government in Ottawa has announced its intention to seize $26 million U.S. in assets from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, with proceeds from the forfeiture going to help reconstruct Ukraine.
The asset seizure marks the first time that Canada is using a law that allows it to take sanctioned assets through a court order.
The assets being targeted are held by Granite Capital Holdings, a private company owned by Abramovich, according to a statement by the Canadian government. Ottawa has reportedly seized a bank account belonging to Abramovich that contains company dividends.
The law allowing for the seizure was passed in June 2022 but enforcing it has been difficult due to a lack of police resources for identifying and seizing sanctioned assets.
This past October, Ottawa announced $76 million to fund a new dedicated federal bureau that will focus on asset seizures and provide additional supports to the RCMP, Canada’s federal police force.