Russian Central Bank sues Euroclear over frozen assets
The Central Bank of Russia has announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the Belgian depository Euroclear, which blocked the Russian regulator's assets worth more than €200 billion after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The lawsuit was filed with the Moscow Arbitration Court demanding to recover the alleged damages and to declare the inability to dispose of funds and securities illegal.
In the statement, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation argues that any direct or indirect use of the frozen assets is contrary to international law and violates the sovereign immunity of the Russian Federation.
Most of the frozen Russian funds are held in Euroclear accounts in Belgium. The European Commission proposes to use the proceeds from these assets to create a so-called reparations loan to Ukraine. This issue is to be discussed at the EU summit on 19 December.
The claim of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is filed against the background of the preparation of European decisions on the actual confiscation of profits from frozen Russian assets, which creates additional legal and political pressure on Moscow.