HC Deb 26 April 1978 vol 948 cc581-2W
43. Mr. Whitlock

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total of moneys held in the United Kingdom against Czarist debts since 1917; and what is the extent of claims registered by British creditors against Czarist assets.

Mr. Luard

No comprehensive evaluation can at present be made by the British Government of the assets in the United Kingdom of the former Imperial Russian Government, and it is not therefore possible to state with any accuracy what the current value of such assets might be. Nor has there been any recent official registration of private British losses and so any estimate for these would be misleading. They are, however, of considerable magnitude. Her Majesty's Government have a claim in respect of the Russian war debt amounting to about £560 million.