US to discuss freezing $132bn Russia's gold reserves

Moscow, March 24 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet this week with a bipartisan group of Senators to discuss the opportunity of freezing Russia's $132 billion in gold reserves, Axios reported.

"Secretary Yellen regularly meets with members of Congress to discuss legislation. Additionally, Treasury staff frequently provide technical assistance on sanctions bills," the department spokesperson said.

Maine Senator Angus King claimed the legislation could pass the Senate as early as this week. The initiative is meant to deprive Moscow of the opportunity to mitigate the effects of Western sanctions on its economy by monetising its large gold reserves, punishing the Kremlin for its military action in Ukraine, RT reported.

"Russia's massive gold supply is one of the few remaining assets that Putin can use to keep his country's economy from falling even further.

The American politic behind the initiative believe that Moscow is using gold to hinder the devaluation of its national currency, the ruble.

Washington, D.C. is concerned that vast gold reserves allow the Kremlin to purchase high-value currencies on the international market.

On March 8, the same group of US Senators introduced a bill designed to close this loophole in the sanctions that allow Russ to trade gold. The bill is titled "Stop Russian GOLD", which stands for "Stop Russian Government and Oligarchs from Limiting Democracy".

If adopted, the legislation will allow the US government to apply secondary sanctions to anyone selling or buying the gold that belongs to Russia's central bank, RT reported.