Russia’s central bank said it has filed a lawsuit against Belgian securities depository Euroclear in the Moscow Arbitration Court, citing EU proposals to use Russian state assets held at the firm.
On Friday, December 12, the regulator called “mechanisms officially under consideration by the European Commission for the direct or indirect use of Bank of Russia assets” without its consent unlawful.
In a statement posted on Telegram, the Bank of Russia said it has incurred losses due to its inability to manage “funds and securities belonging to the Bank of Russia” and will seek compensation.
Russia to contest EU decisions on its frozen assets
The same day, the Bank of Russia warned it would challenge any European Union decisions concerning the use of frozen Russian assets.
“If the initiatives under discussion in the EU on this matter advance and are implemented in any form, the Bank of Russia reserves the right, without further notice, to move to the practical implementation of all available legal and other mechanisms to protect its interests,” the central bank’s press service said.
Any EU announcement or implementation of measures targeting Russian funds will trigger “unconditional challenges” by the Bank of Russia “before all competent bodies available, including national courts, judicial authorities of foreign states and international organizations, arbitrations and other international judicial instances, followed by the enforcement of judicial acts on the territory of UN member states,” the Russian Central Bank added.
The regulator said planned EU steps to use its assets held in EU financial institutions—including at Euroclear - are “illegal, contrary to international law and violative of the principles of sovereign immunity of assets.”
A day earlier, Denmark, which currently holds the EU presidency, announced that a majority of member states had agreed to create a legal basis for using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit.
As a first step, the EU aims to impose an open-ended ban on returning Russia’s frozen funds.
The move is intended to prevent any single EU country from using a veto to unlock Russian assets.
Currently, the funds are frozen under EU sanctions that must be renewed unanimously every six months.
EU backers of the plan, including Germany, are leaning on Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to make the freeze indefinite.
That article allows measures to be adopted by qualified majority in response to serious economic difficulties.
A draft EU legal act says Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to pose significant economic challenges, and the transfer of Russian funds should be prevented with maximum urgency to limit harm to the EU economy.
The document is expected to be adopted before next week’s EU summit.
