Report: EU can invest frozen Russian assets at 2.6% yield

BERLIN, Apr 13 (PRIME) -- The European Commission will have to return frozen assets of the Russian central bank in the future but plans to invest them temporarily in the European state bonds with a 2.6% yield, newspaper Die Welt reported on Thursday citing a secret document.

"Can the E.U. use the money to rebuild Ukraine? There is political will. But the legal obstacles are significant, and the commission has drawn a sobering conclusion: the funds must not be touched, because… they will have to be returned to Russia," the newspaper reported.

At the same time, investment of the funds may be legal as a force-majeure step. In this case, the yield would be sent to Ukraine. Negotiations on the matter between the E.U. states are planned.

Several sources told the newspaper that some E.U. states refused to provide location of the funds to the European Commission. According to a report by Suddeutsche Zeitung earlier in April, the whereabouts of 300 billion euros of frozen Russian assets are still unknown.

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