The [[United States]] under the [[Biden regime]] moved to ''de facto'' [[steal]] USD $300 billion held in foreign banks that belongs to [[Russia]] via a scheme ostensibly meant to fund [[Ukraine aid]].<ref>https://www.businessinsider.com/us-eyes-using-300-russia-frozen-assets-help-ukraine-backfire-2023-12</ref> Acts like these is what essentially drives the BRICS nations to pursue a new settlement and payment infrastructure that would bypass use of [[US dollars]] (USD) or [[euro]], thus protecting the system's users from the United States and [[European Union]] using their currencies to [[blackmail]] other countries into compliance with [[the West]]'s wishes.<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/02/america-russia-sanctions/681779/ How America Wasted Its Most Powerful Economic Weapon], By Edward Fishman, ''[[The Atlantic]]'', February 24, 2025.</ref> For example, the United States routinely employs or threatens [[economic sanctions]] against countries if they do not de-criminalize [[homosexuality]] or legalize [[gay marriage]], alleging those countries to be "[[human rights]] violators".<ref>[https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr-recent-developments/36 Ryan J. McElhose, Are Threats to Impose Financial Sanctions an Effective Approach for the United States to Protect LGBTQ Rights in Africa?], 37 1 (2023). Emory University School of Lasw Commons</ref> Even a change of administration in the United States cannot repair the loss of [[confidence]] and broken [[trust]] in the global financial system or assure such "[[rules based order]]" [[tactics]] would not occur again in the future to any party or nation participating in the [[SWIFT]] network.<ref>https://www.theinteldrop.org/2023/02/15/rules-based-world-order-vs-international-law/</ref>
==Bricks+ Reserve Fund==
The Bricks+ Reserve Fund was created, a $150 billion pool capitalized by [[Russia]], [[China]], [[India]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[UAE]], and other nations wary of [[Collective West|Western]] [[financial]] weaponization. The fund's purpose to provide liquidity and financial stability for countries that faced Western [[economic sanctions]] or asset freezes. It is sort of an alternative
[[IMF]] for the sanctioned and the nervous. But the real [[innovation]] was the mechanism. The fund would accept sovereign assets for safekeeping. But these assets would be held in distributed custody across multiple non-Western jurisdictions. No single country could freeze them. No Western court could seize them. The assets were [[legal]]ly structured to be seizure proof.
China contributed $50 billion. Russia committed $30 billion. Saudi Arabia and UAE added $25 billion each. India, [[Iran]], and others filled out the rest. This wasn't just about the [[money]]. This was
about creating [[financial]] [[infrastructure]] that bypassed Western control entirely.
Countries looking at what happened to Russian reserves in [[Europe]] had to ask themselves, "Are our reserves safe in [[London]], [[Frankfurt]], or [[New York]]?" The answer increasingly was no. The [[capital flight]] began immediately. Saudi Arabia quietly began diversifying its reserves away from European assets, not selling everything, but reducing concentration. UAE moved portions of its sovereign wealth fund holdings from European [[bond]]s to [[Asian]] [[asset]]s. China accelerated its
dedollarization efforts and reduced [[Euro]] exposure. Even non-aligned countries like [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Mexico]] began discussing reserve [[diversification]] [[strategies]].
The amounts involved were staggering. Sovereign wealth funds and central banks hold Trillions in European assets. Even a 10% reduction represents hundreds of Billions in selling pressure. European bond markets felt the impact. Yields rose as demand decreased. Borrowing costs for European governments increased precisely when they needed to borrow more for [[Ukraine aid]] and [[energy]]
transition spending. The European Central Bank faced an impossible choice. Intervene to support bond markets by buying [[government]] [[debt]], reigniting [[inflation]], or let yields rise and watch
governments struggle with debt service costs. They chose a middle path that satisfied nobody. Limited intervention that prevented [[crisis]], but didn't restore [[confidence]].
==References==