The nongovernmental organization American Civil Liberties Union opposed a bill to seize assets of sanctioned Russian businessmen. Because of this, U.S. congressmen passed the document in an amended form, sources told The Washington Post.
Democratic and Republican congressmen Tom Malinowski and Joe Wilson had proposed giving the government the power to seize assets worth more than $5 million that had been blocked by sanctions. The bill called for transferring money from the sale of assets to Ukraine. According to WP, the total amount of these funds could run into billions of dollars.
Human rights activists believe that the bill contradicts the American legislation, as it does not give the right to challenge the seizure in court. In addition, such a law could have been overturned by the judiciary. “The bill was so unconstitutional that it increased the likelihood that sanctioned Russian citizens would win in an American court, which would likely have struck down the law and sanctions as unconstitutional,” Christopher Anders, director of federal policy for the American Civil Liberties Union, told the newspaper.
The House bill has been transformed into a resolution. It proposes creating a task force which would give the White House 60 days to determine the constitutional mechanisms for confiscating the assets of Russian businessmen. After that a new bill may be drafted.
The European Union, the U.S., Britain and other countries are imposing sanctions against Russia in response to the military operation in Ukraine, which has been underway since Feb. 24 on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. The restrictions affect the Central Bank, banks, companies from various spheres, officials and businessmen.