On 8 December, The Australian Financial Review reported on Ukrainian efforts to urge the New South Wales government to use its shareholding in a major financial services firm Euroclear to back Europe’s plan to seize €185 billion (AUD 325 billion) in “frozen” Russian assets to fund the criminal and corrupt neo-Nazi Kiev regime.

It is claimed that the NSW government’s investment manager, known as TCorp, is the ninth-largest shareholder in Euroclear.

The Russian Embassy would like to recall that the idea of providing “reparations” to Ukraine at the expense of Russian assets runs counter to international and contractual law and, if implemented, will be regarded by the Russian side as outright theft and robbery.

Should the Australian or any other government carry out any unauthorised transactions involving our sovereign holdings, Russia will inevitably respond in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, our national interests and the need to compensate for the damage caused to us.