PEACE Act of 2025

Key Points

• The bill requires the Treasury Department to block foreign banks from using the U.S. financial system if they knowingly provide significant financial services to sanctioned Russian individuals, entities, or anyone operating in Russia's energy sector. This is designed to squeeze Russia economically and push toward a peace deal.
• The U.S. government would seize Russian state funds held in American banks, including assets of the Russian Central Bank and National Wealth Fund, and deposit them into a special fund used to buy defense equipment for Ukraine and provide other support.
• Treasury must determine within 90 days whether Russia's biggest energy companies, Gazprom, Rosneft, and Lukoil, should be classified as entities operating in Russia's energy sector, which would trigger the banking restrictions against any foreign bank doing business with them.
• Violators face civil penalties up to $377,700 or double the transaction amount, while willful violations carry criminal penalties of up to $1 million in fines and 20 years in prison. The president can waive the sanctions for up to 180 days at a time if it helps achieve peace or serves the national interest.
• The entire law automatically expires after 5 years or 30 days after the president reports to Congress that Russia has stopped destabilizing Ukraine, whichever comes first. This built-in sunset clause ensures the sanctions are tied directly to the conflict's resolution.