# Given the current situation, what are the implications for someone who has a large amount of Russian and Russian-backed debt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2022, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-the-current-situation-what-are-the-implications-for-someone-who-has-a-large-amount-of-russian-and-russian-backed-debt/960559 "2022-03-06T11:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 6
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-the-current-situation-what-are-the-implications-for-someone-who-has-a-large-amount-of-russian-and-russian-backed-debt/960559/6 "2022-03-06T14:31:07Z")
Just to nitpick your terminology, when you say someone “has” Russian debt, that usually means that Russia owes _them_ money - that some payment due _from_ Russia is owned as an asset. In your scenario, if you owe money _to_ some sanctioned Russian entity - > [@MozeJose](#): > > what type of financial challenges could I expect? …well, the challenges are not really financial. You still have the same liability, you’re not going to get the windfall of the debt disappearing. It’s more a questions of legal compliance with whatever sanctions are in place. Ultimately, your own government would control what happens to any repayment, along the lines of what’s described here: > **[Custodian of Enemy Property](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custodian_of_Enemy_Property)** > > The Custodian of Enemy Property is an institution that handles property claims created by war. In wartime, civilian property may be left behind or taken by the occupying state. In ancient times, such property was considered war loot, and the legal right of the winner. In the Fourth Geneva Convention Article 147, such action is defined as war crime: > "Grave breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving any of the following acts, if committed against persons or proper... In the U.S., this is what happened in WWI and WWII: > **[Office of Alien Property Custodian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Alien_Property_Custodian)** > > The Office of Alien Property Custodian was an office within the government of the United States during World War I and again during World War II, serving as a custodian to property that belonged to US enemies. The office was created in 1917 by Executive Order 2729-A under the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 (TWEA) in order to "assume control and dispose of enemy-owned property in the United States and its possessions." > Sec. 6 of TWEA authorized the president to appoint an official known a... See also a prior thread on this topic: [What happens to economic debt between belligerent nations?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-economic-debt-between-belligerent-nations/956019) In terms of major public debt, Russia has obviously tended to be a borrower rather than a lender from the West. Substantial Russian loans would often be politically motivated. According to this article (2019), Russia’s biggest debtors were Belarus, Ukraine, Venezuela, Cuba, Bangladesh. I guess any repayment from the second of those will be taken rather than given. [17 Countries Owe Russia $27Bln – Reports - The Moscow Times](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/08/19/17-countries-owe-russia-27bln-reports-a66918) --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-the-current-situation-what-are-the-implications-for-someone-who-has-a-large-amount-of-russian-and-russian-backed-debt/960559)._