r/stocks
Can your US stocks be taken from you/ just frozen if your country becomes sanctioned by the US? Has this ever happened?
User asks if US stocks can be frozen for Iraqi nationals due to sanctions and seeks advice on broker jurisdiction risks.
Would appreciate some input here. My cousin is worried that Since he’s an Iraqi national he might just lose all his money or just not be able to sell his stocks.
Has this ever happened?
He lives in the UAE so outside Iraq. Does this remove the risk?
Does it depend on what broker you buy from? Should he buy from UAE based brokers not US?
Iraq already got heavy sanctions in the 90s but I couldn’t find clear info on what happened to share holders living outside Iraq.
Can maybe someone who’s from Russia/Belorussia share his experience? Thanks
It has happened. If I’m not mistaken Japanese people holding U.S. stocks during the Second World War got their stocks taken but returned with any profits / losses when the war ended.
Hmmm. Not looking good lol. Will look more into it thanks
Where are you from if I may ask
Japan
Of course. Look at what happened to Russian oligarchs. All of their assets were siezed.
It can happen, yes
The took the money from Russians in Europe when Rusia invaded Ukraine
Technically frozen not taken.
Most sanctions are targeted at specific people / companies / government action. Current sanctions on Russian and Belorussians are not for every single person of that citizenry, but more specific oligarchs and their supporting folks. While there are past examples (someone else mentioned the treatment of the Japanese during WW2, which was... yeah, not our best time in the US. See also, Korematsu) of broader restrictions, most US sanctions have not applied to all individuals from a specific country. If anything, the bigger restrictions have come from THOSE countries. Ask a Russian or Chinese national how hard it is to invest in foreign stocks.
Broadly speaking, unless your cousin is closely related to a likely enemy state, terrorist group, or entity which supports an enemy state or terrorist group, they probably have minimal to worry about on a sanctions standpoint.
This does not mean there won't be tons of hoops to jump though. That may remain true.
It applied to every single Russian who invested through Russian brokers, they lost all their investments (and investing through domestic broker to US market was quite popular in 2021).Those Russians who invested through US broker were more safe, unless they were in the targeted sanctions list.
The amount of misinformation or giving info from 50 years ago in this thread is unreal.
Elaborate then please
You're incorrect here lol. On many fronts.
Russian oligarchs