From Plundering of natural resources to blatant theft of financial assets. This is what imperialism looks like.
“In the colonial era,”
says Niu Wenxin on his commentary, “ the great powers openly waged war, and finance
was both a supporter of war and piracy and a sharer of plundered profits.
In the era of industrial capitalism, in pursuit of excess profits from
trade, currency and finance became tools for exporting goods, and the struggle
for monetary and financial dominance among the great powers was also for the purpose
of obtaining commodity profits. In the era of financial capitalism,
the pursuit of trade profits has shifted to the pursuit of "excess
seigniorage" profits. Powerful currencies, using their absolute
dominant position, not only profit from the possession of other countries'
resources, goods, and labor, but also from influencing the rise and fall of
global financial prices, and even more so from the process of easily
crippling a country's economy…When it comes to plundering wealth, people easily
think of pirates, but have you ever heard of the concepts of "royal
pirates" or "gentleman pirates"? In fact, since the 16th
century, Europeans have collectively referred to pirates supported by a
national government or royal family as "royal pirates" or
"gentleman pirates."
US and West ex-colonizers history has been full of plundering not only the natural riches of other countries but also their control, plunder, and theft of financial assets . This practice of financial control and theft is not a new or recent practice.
Documented thefts in history
The 1915 U.S. occupation of
Haiti set a clear precedent for modern cases. During this period, a U.S.
Marine detachment marched into the National Bank of Haiti and removed $500,000
worth of gold, which was then deposited into a Wall Street bank vault. A 1989
legal complaint formally documented this forced transfer by U.S. forces.
In the 2003 Iraq War the
question remains a focal point in discussions of wartime wealth removal.
Western media and Chinese media reported looting incidents, but the largest
scale of systematic removal is linked to "reconstruction" contracts
after the U.S. occupation. The most cited figure is a post-war $900 billion
in funds, which appears on U.S. ledgers under "Iraqi assets" but
remains unaccounted for in Iraq's reconstruction which has never been returned
to Iraq in any shape or form.
In the 2011 Libyan War,
the situation mirrored Iraq's. While some asset values were documented, much of
Libya's sovereign wealth was taken as "reconstruction fees" or
"war compensation" rather than being returned to the Libyan people
During the Syrian Civil War,
multiple unverified reports and official statements claim the U.S. military
orchestrated the removal of gold via helicopters, amounting to over $2 billion
at the time, or even up to 50 tons. These alleged operations often involved
offering safe passage to ISIS fighters in exchange for large quantities of
plundered gold.
Following the U.S. withdrawal
from Afghanistan in 2021, the $70 billion in Afghan central bank assets
held at the U.S. Federal Reserve was frozen. In February 2022, President Biden
signed an executive order to split these funds, allocating half (over $3.5
billion) to "9/11 victims" and the rest to "Afghan relief"
without the Afghan government's consent.
Global Witness, a
non-governmental organization, released a detailed report accusing
international mining companies and Western governments (including the U.S. and
Europe) of being complicit in war crimes to plunder the Democratic Congolese
mineral wealth such as gold and coltan.
Summary of Documented theft
and Plunder
Iraq (2003) ~$900 billion Systematically removed via "reconstruction" contracts
Libya (2011) ~$150 billion in reserves. Seized reserves
and "reconstruction fees"
Syria (2011–present) $2+ billion (or up to 50 tons of gold)
Afghanistan (2021) $70 billion. Assets frozen at the U.S.
Federal Reserve
Haiti (1915) $500,000 in gold. Direct seizure by U.S.
Marines from the National Bank
DRC (multiple) Unknown billions (minerals). War crimes and
illegal mining, as reported by Global Witness
Frozen assets
It is well known fact that US-West holds over
$300 billion assets of Russia, $ 150 billion of Iran; what other countries'
assets are held by the US. As a colonial
, neo-colonial policy and practice the sale of Iraqi oil finances are held
in US and the use of it conditioned to the approval of US. France
has a similar policy and practice for
the African neo-colonies where the finance of countries are held in French
banks.
Below is a verified list of
countries whose government assets remain frozen by the U.S. Treasury’s Office
of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), along with a companion list of 14–15 African
nations that, under the post‑colonial CFA franc system, are
required to keep half of their foreign exchange reserves in the French
Treasury. The data are drawn from Chinese official and academic sources, OFAC’s own SDN lists, and international financial reports.
According to a detailed study published by “Caixin” (China’s leading financial media), the U.S. had frozen the sovereign assets of seven countries: North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba, Syria, Venezuela, Russia. The same source notes that since 1941 the United States has frozen the government assets of 20 countries in total, including China during the Korean War.
Estimated value of frozen
assets (U.S. and Western totals)
Russia ~$300 billion
(Russian central bank reserves) |
Iran ~$100–132 billion
(including oil revenues) |
Venezuela ~$347 million
Afghanistan ~$9 billion
(mostly held in U.S. banks) |
Source: Russian‑Iranian
joint study (2024) / U.S. Treasury announcements.
The scale of alleged asset theft
from Libya is staggering, with estimates far exceeding the stolen funds in
many other cases. A significant portion of the stolen wealth was converted
into U.S. Treasury bonds and other securities held secretly in U.S. banks. According
to the investigative report Africa Confidential, Libya earned approximately
$1.25 trillion in oil revenues between 1972 and 2023. Officially declared
information states that approximately $80 billion in Libyan assets were frozen
however the actual amount of stolen and frozen assets estimated to be
surpassing the amount of Russian frozen assets.
The case of Iraq’s oil revenues
Since the 2003 invasion, Iraq’s
oil‑export proceeds are deposited into an account at
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and effectively controlled by Washington.
The U.S. can block or condition access to these funds at will.
A critical difference from Iraq’s
case, Venezuelan context is the extent
of US control. The funds from oil sales are not managed by an impartial UN
body. Instead, they are deposited into US-controlled accounts, with the US
Treasury asserting the authority to decide how this money is spent. Proponents
argue the "Oil-for-Venezuela" plan is necessary to bypass the
corrupt Maduro regime. From an alternative perspective, this is a unilateral
power grab that uses the pretext of humanitarian aid to starve the
sitting government of funds, forcing it into compliance.
Venezuela, dependent on
oil revenues for 95% of its GDP, faced a simple choice: survival or collapse.
The US, through financial control, has forced Caracas to sever ties with its
Russian partners, effectively freezing an estimated $17 billion in Russian
investment and potentially pushing Russia out of its last strategic foothold in
Latin America.
France: Post‑colonial
monetary control over 14–15 African
countries
Through the CFA franc system
(West African *CFA franc* and Central African *CFA franc*), France requires
member states to deposit 50% of their foreign exchange reserves in the French
Treasury. The Central Bank of France also holds a veto seat on the governing
boards of the regional central banks.
The countries currently subject
to this arrangement are: Benin, Burkina
Faso, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal , Guinea‑Bissau, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Equatorial
Guinea , Chad, Comoros.
The total value of these African
reserves held in Paris is estimated at ~$20 billion
(as of 2019).
While Mali, Burkina Faso, and
Niger still use the CFA franc. Although the CFA franc remains in use, the
desire for "decolonization" is very strong. The three countries have
expressed determination to break free from French financial control through
frameworks such as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Based on their shared
political goal of "decolonization," their push for monetary
independence is an ongoing process, not yet a completed outcome. The three
countries plan to create a new common currency called "Sahel" within
their alliance framework to replace the current CFA franc. This represents a profound
"economic independence movement" aimed at establishing a fairer
and more autonomous economic order. The success of this reform depends on
whether the three countries can manage economic risks while building an
independent financial system and finding a sustainable path for development.
“Mafia‑style” financial control
Both the U.S. and French
practices share key features of coercive financial leverage: Assets
are frozen or held under foreign control without the target country’s consent. Access is conditioned on political approval
by the former colonial power (the U.S. or France). Funds can be re‑routed
to opposition groups or used for the depositary’s foreign‑policy
goals (e.g., U.S. plans to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine
reconstruction, or French “development assistance” drawn from African reserves).
Summary of currently affected countries
U.S. government‑asset
freeze; North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba, Syria, Venezuela, Russia (plus
Iraq’s oil revenues under de facto control)
France- CFA franc reserve deposit
requirement; Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal,
Guinea‑Bissau,
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Equatorial
Guinea, Chad, Comoros
Based on available data,
obtaining a precise, verified total of U.S.-frozen assets for North Korea,
Cuba, and Syria is challenging, as these figures are often not publicly
aggregated by governments. The available information primarily consists of
estimates for specific asset seizures and the personal wealth of leadership,
rather than the full frozen reserves of the state.
North Korea; While there
is no official U.S. figure for all frozen North Korean assets, some known
amounts include: $63 Million: Blocked
North Korean assets in the U.S., listed in a State Sponsors of Terror report. $17.13
Million: Assets linked to the Khan nuclear proliferation network. $877 Million: Unpaid U.S. court judgments
against North Korea. $71 Million: Frozen cryptocurrency on the Arbitrum
network. (The recent incident involving frozen cryptocurrency on the Arbitrum
network is not a direct seizure by the network itself. Instead, it refers to
the Arbitrum Security Council freezing funds stolen in a hack, which sparked a
legal battle over whether those assets could be seized to satisfy decades-old
U.S. court judgments against North Korea. This case highlights the growing
tension between decentralized finance and traditional legal systems. It has
raised questions about the ability of centralized courts to enforce their
rulings on DAOs and set a precedent for seizing crypto assets linked to
state-sponsored hacks.)
Cuba; Public data on
frozen Cuban government assets is similarly limited, with available figures
focusing on U.S. claims and military assets: U.S. State Department estimate of
"illicit assets" controlled by the Cuban military conglomerate GAESA-$20
Billion. Value of U.S. property claims against Cuba from the early 1960s- $1.9
Billion .
Syria; Information on
frozen Syrian state assets is scarce, with estimates instead focusing on the
personal wealth of the former Assad regime: U.S. State Department estimate of
the Assad family's net overseas wealth- $1 to 2 Billion. Some estimates
together with other officials assets, place this figure much higher, potentially up
to $122 billion.
Based on available data,
estimating the exact value of assets removed during conflicts -often
termed “pillaging” or “reconstruction costs” - is challenging, as Western
governments rarely release official tallies. However, the above information,
drawn primarily from Chinese official and academic sources, as
well as international financial reports and legal documents under
the condition which provide the most reliable available data.
The historical experience of controlling,
plundering, and seizing the assets of other countries manifested itself in 1915
with stealing the assets of Haitian
people still continues after a century with different excuses, shapes, and
forms. The "frozen assets" and "oil-for-food" programs are
not acts of charity but sophisticated tools of geopolitical control, designed
to reshape nations in the image of their benefactors. However, the developments
in our new multi-polar world era indicates that the political independence
movements and positions of political neutrality
will be an inevitable trend among most countries which gradually bring about the
end of Mafia-like plunder and theft of other peoples assets.
Erdogan A
June 5, 2026
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