Belarus passes law to confiscate foreign property in response to "hostile actions"

MADRID, 6 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Belarusian authorities have approved this Friday a law that authorizes the confiscation of foreign properties in response to "hostile actions", a measure that has received the green light "in the face of "threats to the national interests" of the country in the context of the war in Ukraine and the crackdown on the opposition following allegations of fraud after the 2020 elections.

According to information collected by the Belarusian news agency BelTA, the legislation seeks to "guarantee the national security of Belarus, its economic stability and protect the legitimate rights and interests" of companies and citizens of the European country.

Thus, it stipulates as a cause for the confiscation of foreign objects and assets "the commission of hostile actions against Belarus, its legal entities or its individuals", before emphasizing that the decision remains in the hands of the Government, after which the regulatory committee of the patrimonial assets must apply to the Minsk Economic Court.

In this sense, it emphasizes that the confiscation of these assets "must be based on the principles of objectivity, proportionality, transparency, adequacy, strategic importance and efficiency", before pointing out that "the principle of objectivity is expressed in the seizure of assets solely in response to the commission of hostile acts against Belarus, its legal entities and individuals".

The legislation specifies that among the assets that can be seized are cash funds, properties and shares, while it stresses that these confiscated objects "become the property of the Republic."