The Attorney General of England and Wales Richard Hermer is opposed to seizing Russian assets due to concerns that it could breach international law, the Times newspaper reported, citing sources.
In addition to the legal complications, Hermer also believes that seizing Russian assets could damage London's reputation as an international financial center and could lead to a decrease in investment from wealthy Gulf monarchies.
At the same time, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is pushing for the confiscation of Russian assets. The newspaper noted that London is ready to take confiscation only if its European allies take similar action.
In turn, the head of the law firm W Legal, Nigel Kushner, told the publication that “The United Kingdom has no legal grounds for confiscation“ of Russian assets.
On March 3, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking in the House of Commons (the lower house of parliament), emphasized that the issue of using Russia's frozen assets is very complex, but London will continue to work on creating a legal framework.
Earlier, The Times reported that the volume of Russian assets frozen in the United Kingdom is about $ 30 billion. On March 1, London and Kiev signed an agreement to provide Ukraine with a loan of 2.26 billion pounds ($ 2.9 billion), using the proceeds from them.