Russian Central Bank threatens EU with lawsuits over frozen assets

The Central Bank of Russia has threatened the European Union with legal actions and compensation demands if frozen Russian assets are further utilized to support Ukraine.

This is reported by Bloomberg .

The Russian regulator declared in a statement that the Bank of Russia would consider the utilize of its assets “illegal” and would demand compensation for losses in the amount of frozen funds, as well as so-called “lost profits.” The Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced its intention to apply to Russian courts and seek enforcement of the relevant decisions “in any state.”

The statement came amid active discussions in Brussels about providing Ukraine with a loan secured by Russia’s revenues or frozen assets themselves. According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin sees this as a direct challenge and is testing to put pressure on European institutions.

Journalists recall that in early December, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation had already filed a lawsuit in a Moscow court against the international depository Euroclear , demanding 18.2 trillion rubles – about 227 billion dollars. This is the amount that the Russian regulator estimates as the equivalent of its assets frozen abroad. A court hearing in this case is scheduled for January 16.

In addition, Russian media reports that the Russian authorities are considering mirror steps – in particular, confiscating European assets on Russian territory. Euroclear itself, which is a key custodian of frozen funds of the Russian Central Bank, could also fall under potential restrictions.

It was previously reported that the European Union countries have reached a turning point on the issue of applying frozen Russian assets for financial assistance to Ukraine, but discussions on technical details are ongoing.

As a reminder, US lawbuildrs have introduced a bipartisan bill to the Senate that would impose sanctions on the purchase or facilitation of imports of oil and petroleum products from Russia.

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