The Bank of Russia intends to file a lawsuit against the Euroclear depository in the Moscow Arbitration Court today, the regulator's press service said.

The lawsuit claims damages caused to the Central Bank by Euroclear's illegal actions.

Main information on the situation.

Filing the lawsuit

• The Bank of Russia intends to file a lawsuit against Euroclear in the Moscow Arbitration Court today, the regulator's press service reported.
• The lawsuit is related to damages caused to the Central Bank by Euroclear's illegal actions.
• The amount of damages consists of the regulator's blocked funds, the value of the blocked securities, and lost profits, the regulator’s press service said.

According to the regulator, the filing is a pre-emptive measure against the European Commission's officially announced plans to permanently freeze the Bank of Russia's funds, as well as plans to use the regulator’s assets for transfer to third parties.

• The amount of the claim is not specified.
• The Bank of Russia will challenge any unauthorized use of assets, the regulator noted.

Procedure for obtaining compensation

The procedure for executing the court order using Euroclear's assets will be determined after the court's decision enters into force, the regulator's press service reported.

If the claim against Euroclear is upheld, the Bank of Russia will be able to recover debt from the depository using its funds held under Russian jurisdiction, according to Dmitry Grigoriadi, a lawyer and expert at the P.A. Stolypin Institute for Growth Economics.

Asset situation

• Earlier, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced that EU countries were preparing to discuss extending the freeze on Russian assets for at least another two years. The European Commission hopes to secure a decision at the December 18-19 summit to expropriate 210 billion euros in Russian assets, 185 billion euros of which are blocked on the Euroclear platform in Belgium.
• Belgium opposes this decision, demanding legally binding guarantees from all EU countries that they will compensate the Kingdom for the financial losses caused by potential Russian retaliatory measures.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the confiscation of Russian assets being discussed in Europe would be an act of theft.
• Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko told TASS that the Belgian leadership has already been presented with options for responding to the possible seizure of Russian assets by Western countries.
• Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow will not leave such actions unanswered.
• The mechanisms envisaged by the EC for the direct or indirect use of the regulator's assets are illegal and contrary to international law, violating the principles of sovereign immunity of assets, the Bank of Russia stressed.

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