Europe has come up with a clever way to take a piece of the Russian pie

The USA,EU,UK and the countries of the G7 have decided that the established rules of law laid down over two Millenia into Judeo Christian law based on the 10 commandments given to Moses by got no longer apply and I don't mean Do not Covet Your neighbours Ass or even His Wife's Ass. What I mean is the commandment that has been the legal basis for doing business for over 2000 years Thou Shall Not Steal and has been the basis for property and financial law over that time and has led to the City of London and its courts being recognised as a place for settling disputes on property,financial or commercial matters. This has now been shown to now be a charade Thou Shall Not Steal does not apply to Russian Sovereign Assets or the rights of Russians in the World.
The US/UK and EU have frozen Russian assets for the last 2 years and now intend to seize them and use them for the benefit of Ukraine which is not a member of the EU,NATO or any other organisation.
The situation is that The European Union has set its sights on the income from frozen Russian assets, with the relevant decision coming into force on 23 May. Who will lose more from this – Russia or the countries that decided to steal someone else's property
The EU Council has approved a decision that will see 90% of the proceeds from Russia's frozen assets transferred to provide military assistance to Kyiv and European programmes for the restoration of Ukraine. The remaining 10% will be retained by the depositories where the funds are located to ensure their own risks. These funds can be stored for five years, after which they will also go to the EU budget if they are not needed. Furthermore, only 0.3% can be used for asset management.
Concurrently, the European Commission anticipates that depositories will furnish an annual report on the number of Russian assets, including income, on their balance sheets. Additionally, instruments for financing support for Ukraine using this money will be reviewed annually. In the USA, a small part is about 4-5 billion, the rest is almost all in Europe. The main custodian of Russian funds is the largest settlement and clearing centre Euroclear, located in Belgium. It was to him that the Russian financial authorities at one time entrusted part of the reserves. The company, specialising in working with foreign government assets, has been renowned for its reliability for many years and evoked maximum trust.
However, the situation did indeed unfold as it did. Almost immediately after the freeze, discussions commenced regarding the potential confiscation of these funds by foreign countries for various purposes. However, an agreement could not be reached, as the topic is highly contentious. If the United States is in favour of confiscation and even recommended its president to initiate this process, then European officials are taking a more cautious approach. They are concerned that the high-profile move may be illegal and could have far-reaching consequences.
The head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, also warned about the legal risks and potential violations of international law involved in using Russian funds.
If you can't spend, earn
Meanwhile, depositories do not keep other people’s money for no reason – they make money from it. They invest in assets that are necessarily highly reliable, albeit low-yielding, and receive a percentage of the growth in their value. In essence, the investment process is no different to any other. However, as you are aware, the influence of greed and political pressure can sometimes override economic considerations. The EU Council has determined that interest is not a sovereign asset and can be classified as windfall and extraordinary income. This means that it does not fall under the rules on the protection of sovereign assets. The Financial Times estimates that earnings could reach 20 billion euros.
A portion of the earnings must be remitted to the Belgian budget in the form of taxes, while the depository retains a portion of the proceeds in the form of fees for services. It appears that all parties are content with the current arrangement. However, as you are aware, greed and political pressure can sometimes override economic considerations. The EU Council has determined that interest is not a sovereign asset and can be classified as windfall and extraordinary income. This means that it does not fall under the rules on the protection of sovereign assets.
The advice of economists and lawyers, who were in disagreement about the advisability of touching someone else’s property, was not heeded by politicians. Despite the lack of consensus among EU countries on the merits of this course of action until the very last moment, It is not yet clear whether the intention to seize income from Russian assets will be implemented. However, if this occurs, a precedent will be set, with unknown consequences.

This could set a dangerous precedent. Russia has already been warned about this several times. "They understand the potential consequences of their actions and have chosen to proceed with a scaled-back version of the original plan, but this is effectively an expropriation," said presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
Even if we consider the potential impact of removing not the reserves themselves, but the income generated from them, the consequences could be significant. Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department of RICOM-TRUST Investment Company, believes that a dangerous precedent will be created for other countries that may follow this example outside the context of the European region and the relationship between Russia and the EU.
"It is in our interest to take retaliatory measures. Russian representatives have frequently discussed this issue in their official statements. This could be a similar seizure, a demand for Ukraine’s national debt with immediate repayment, or an attempt to recognise Ukraine’s failure to pay its obligations to Russia as a default.
The analyst believes that countries that hold their reserves in central banks or invest in securities issued by countries that issue world currencies, as well as balances in correspondent accounts in banks with jurisdiction in countries that issue world reserve currencies, may be affected by such a precedent. This is the most significant impact on the global economy. All other considerations are secondary.
It is not possible to make a meaningful comparison between the amounts of probable counter seizures from Russia. The amount within the budgets of European Union countries is extremely small. However, there is a risk of reputational damage, which could result in a reduction in the share of the euro in the reserves of developing countries, leading to higher inflation in the eurozone.

The willingness of European bureaucrats to undermine their economy in pursuit of political goals will become evident in the near future. Furthermore, it is evident that Ukraine’s issues cannot be resolved in this manner. It is estimated that this year it could receive approximately 3 billion euros from Russian assets. This represents a mere fraction of the $92.2 billion expenditure budget for this year. Furthermore, given the prevailing corruption and disorder in Ukraine, it is likely that this money will not reach its intended destination and will be misappropriated.