The White House has proposed giving the government greater power to seize and sell the assets of Russian oligarchs, and transfer their proceeds to Ukraine.
The legislative proposal, released on Thursday morning, will be presented to Congress for consideration.
The measures would make it easier for the US to seize and sell oligarchs’ assets, and use the funds “to remediate harms of Russian aggression”.
Similar US legislation was recently passed, but this marks an escalation.
Western allies, including European Union member states, have been working together since March to track down the assets of Russian elites, from artwork and real estate to helicopters and yachts.
According to the White House, the US has now sanctioned and blocked vessels and aircraft worth over $1bn, while the EU has collectively frozen over $30bn.
But the new plans laid out by the administration go further, calling for streamlined inter-agency collaboration between the Treasury Department, Justice Department, State Department and Commerce Department.
President Biden is due to set out the details on Thursday morning in the US.
The package will “establish new authorities for the forfeiture of property linked to Russian kleptocracy, allow the government to use the proceeds to support Ukraine and further strengthen related law enforcement tools,” the White House said in a statement.
It comes alongside a request for Congress to approve more military, economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.
Last week, President Biden authorised a second $800m (£642m) military aid package in as many weeks, as well as $500m (£401m) in direct economic assistance.
The US has moved quickly to help Ukraine since the war began in late February. That includes:
- Releasing $3.7bn in total military and security assistance
- Deploying more than 100,000 troops to Nato member countries in Europe
- Imposing economic sanctions, asset freezes and travel bans on hundreds of Russian oligarchs and politicians
- Imposing sanctions on Russian banks and defence entities
- Blocking key Russian banks from the Swift messaging system
- Banning Russian oil imports
- Banning the use of domestic airspace by Russian aircraft
On Tuesday, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin convened nearly 40 nations in Germany and announced that several were stepping up their support for Ukraine in order to “move at the speed of war”.
“Ukraine needs our help to win today. And they will still need our help when the war is over,” he told participants.
Canada’s government also proposed legislation this week that would allow it to seize and sell off Russian assets.
Under pressure to expand its sanctions actions, the ruling Liberals are pushing for “any type of property” including money, digital assets and virtual currency to be subject to seizure.