Moscow court orders Euroclear to pay compensation to Russia's central bank over seized assets

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MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow ruled in favor of the Russian Central Bank in its lawsuit against Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house that holds the bulk of Russian assets frozen by the European Union, Russian media reported Friday.

The lawsuit sought to recover 18.2 trillion rubles ($249.7 billion) in damages incurred when Russia was barred from managing and disposing of its Euroclear funds and securities, according to reports.

Russian news outlet RBC on Friday quoted Euroclear's lawyers Maxim Kulkov and Sergei Savelyev as saying that Moscow's Arbitration Court, which heard the case behind closed doors, upheld the Central Bank's claim in full.

The lawyers argued that Euroclear's right to a fair trial was violated, with Savelyev cited as saying the clearing house intends to appeal. The Central Bank is satisfied with the court's decision, its representative told RBC.

The EU froze Russian assets worth 210 billion euros ($244 billion) as part of the sanctions imposed on Moscow after it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Euroclear holds around 193 billion euros of the seized funds.

The Central Bank filed the lawsuit in December 2025. Moscow's Arbitration Court picked up the case even though the EU had set aside its initial plan to use frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine after failing to convince Belgium that it would be protected from Russia's retaliation.

The EU opted instead to borrow 90 billion euros on capital markets to provide an interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for two years.

Russia's Central Bank has condemned the use of frozen assets to aid Ukraine as “illegal, contrary to international law,” arguing that they violated “the principles of sovereign immunity of assets.”