In retaliation for the EU’s plan to exploit frozen Russian funds in favor of Ukraine, Russia may proceed with nationalization and direct sale of foreign property assets based on a new privatization mechanism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the third decree allowing the rapid sale of state assets through a special process, according to Bloomberg.

The decree aims to speed up the sale of various companies, Russian and foreign, a source told Bloomberg. If the European Union begins to seize Russian assets, Moscow can respond with corresponding measures, he added.

Hundreds of Western companies are still active in Russia, from the banking industry to consumer goods, including Unicredit Spa, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Pepsico Inc and Mondelez International Inc.

Putin’s move comes as European leaders, at the informal summit in Copenhagen, are considering a plan to provide loans of € 140 billion ($ 164 billion) to Ukraine, utilizing committed assets of the Russian Central Bank.

The decree restricts the valuation period prior to sale to 10 days and accelerates the state registration of ownership, according to a document published on the government’s website. State Bank Promesvyazbank PJSC was set to handle such transactions, while Putin’s decree stressed that changes were a response to sanctions against Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond immediately to a comment, and earlier on Wednesday, he had described the EU’s plan “illegal confiscation of Russian property, theft”.

Putin has warned that the global financial class will be undermined if the West seizes Russia’s frozen state reserves abroad, which pledged after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The new decree could also be used to sell assets formerly owned by Russian investors. The Kremlin has intensified seizures by targeting Russian citizens, including foreign passports or accused of extremism or corruption.

Properties are often reselled to new owners to strengthen the state budget.

The total value of the seized assets from 2022 reached 3.9 trillion. Rubles ($ 48 billion) to June, according to estimates by NEKTOROV, Saveliev & Partners in Moscow.

So far, Russia has avoided the complete nationalization of assets belonging to international companies. On the contrary, it has temporarily managed some companies before organizing their sale to “preferred buyers” with large discounts.