On 15 May, a Russian court issued a ruling requiring the Belgian financial group Euroclear to pay approximately €220 billion in damages for the freezing of Russian assets in the European Union, a measure taken in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Euroclear has stated that it does not acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Russian court. According to the court’s announcement, “The Moscow Arbitration Court has upheld the lawsuit filed by the Russian Central Bank against Euroclear to recover 18.2 trillion rubles (roughly €220 billion).”
In response to this ruling, Euroclear told AFP that it considers the Russian Central Bank’s claims to be without merit and has announced its intention to appeal the court’s decision. Furthermore, Euroclear emphasised that the ruling will not affect its operations or financial position.
The Russian Central Bank expressed approval of the court’s decision, stating that it recognised Euroclear’s actions as unlawful, although it noted that the decision is not yet final. The process for Russia to recover these funds remains unclear, as legal experts suggest that Russian courts lack jurisdiction over foreign matters, and there appears to be no straightforward legal avenue for Moscow to pursue the case in a European court.
Since the initiation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine four years ago, the European Union has imposed sanctions resulting in the freezing of tens of billions of euros in Russian assets. A significant amount of these assets is managed by Euroclear, which Russia deems as “theft.” In December, Russia filed a lawsuit against Euroclear following the EU’s proposal to utilise these frozen assets as collateral for a loan to Ukraine.
