Lawyers led by McCue Jury & Partners and Mishcon de Reya LLP are aiming to go after billions of dollars of sanctioned Russian assets with the help of investments from hedge funds, family offices and litigation finance firms, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites unnamed sources as saying that the lawyers are looking to raise funds to file legal claims against sanctioned Russians, with any proceeds largely being used to compensate Ukrainians for losses incurred from Russia invasion on it neighbour. Investors would receive a cut of any successful claims.

The report says that the initiative by a group of lawyers calling themselves the Ukraine Justice Alliance, could target up to $1 trillion of Russian money held in offshore jurisdictions, but that the process is likely to be long, complicated and fraught with legal challenges. 

At least one of the hedge funds already approached has decided not to invest while other investors are said to be considering making donations rather than investments to fund the legal action.