Russian bank sues Belgium's Euroclear after movement on frozen assets
Inclusion of the financial institution Euroclear. Ansgar Haase/dpa
Russia's central bank has filed a lawsuit against Belgian firm Euroclear in response to EU moves to permanently freeze Russian state assets held in Europe.
Brussels-based Euroclear manages roughly €185 billion ($217 billion) of the total €210 billion in Russian assets frozen in the European Union as a result of the war in Ukraine.
The central bank's lawsuit relates to "the unlawful actions of the Euroclear depository, causing losses to the Bank of Russia" as well as "the mechanisms officially considered by the European Commission," a statement published on the bank's website on Friday said.
A Moscow arbitration court will hear the case, it said.
Experts see the move as Russia's first step in preparing countermeasures targeting European capital still remaining in the country.
On Thursday, EU member states agreed by majority to establish a legal basis to use frozen Russian state assets for Ukraine. The Danish EU presidency said the first step will be to agree to permanently prevent the funds from being returned to Russia.
At present, Russian assets held in the European Union are frozen under a sanctions mechanism that needs to be renewed every six months - an arrangement that prevents the planned use of Russian assets to fund long-term credits for Ukraine.
The head of the Russian parliament's finance committee, Anatoly Aksakov, said the central bank will likely win the case.
However, Dmitry Grigoryan of the Russian Stolypin economic institute cautioned: "Winning in court is only half the battle; you also have to get the money."
Grigoryan said that while there are Euroclear assets in Russia, most are held in frozen accounts. He did not specify the amount, but media reports suggest it is just under €16 billion.
After launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow restricted the outflow of Western investment from Russia, meaning businesspeople from so-called "unfriendly foreign countries" were only able to sell their companies at well below market value.
Orbán backs Moscow, slams EU
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is on friendly terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin, sharply criticized the EU's plan to permanently lock up Russian funds in Europe.
"With today's decision, the rule of law ends in the European Union," the right-wing populist wrote on his Facebook page, saying the EU was "crossing the Rubicon."