Russia seeks $230bn in damages from Euroclear over seized assets

"Most of the assets, 185bn (162bn), are held at the Euroclear central securities depository in Brussels, which is the keeper of most of the Kremlin's immobilised money. EU officials have argued that the plan is legally sound because Russia remains the owner of its sovereign wealth, which was frozen in European jurisdictions days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow, however, said that using the assets is theft and has threatened to seize European private investors' holdings in Russia."

"Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, who has assumed a key role in peace talks, wrote on X that Russia will win in court and get [the assets] back, adding that the EU, the euro currency and Euroclear will suffer' from the plan. In an apparent attempt to draw a wedge between Europe and the US, Dmitriev described the assets plan as a vicious attack on property rights and the international reserves system created by the United States."

Russia's central bank has filed a claim seeking $230bn (18 trillion roubles) in damages from Euroclear over immobilised Russian assets. The EU is considering using 210bn in frozen Russian assets, mostly 185bn held at Euroclear in Brussels, to provide a loan to Ukraine for defence and economic support. EU officials say legal ownership remains with Russia despite freezes imposed after the 2022 invasion. Moscow labels any use of frozen reserves as theft and has threatened countermeasures, including seizing European private investors' holdings in Russia. Russia may seek enforcement of judgments in friendly jurisdictions such as China, Hong Kong, the UAE and Kazakhstan.

Read at www.theguardian.com