Moscow court orders Belgian depositary Euroclear to pay massive damages to Russia’s Central Bank
A Moscow arbitration court has ordered the Belgian depositary Euroclear to pay 18.17 trillion rubles (200 billion euros) in damages, fully granting Russia’s central bank’s claim, Sergei Savelyev, a representative of the defendant, told the Russian business outlet RBC.
The case was heard behind closed doors. “The right to a fair trial was clearly violated. Given the closed nature of the proceedings, which we objected to, we cannot disclose any additional information,” Savelyev said.
He said the Belgium-based depository intends to appeal the ruling.
Russia’s central bank filed the lawsuit against Euroclear in December 2025, citing what it described as “unlawful actions” by the depositary.
The main portion of Russian assets frozen after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine — around 190 billion euros — is held at Euroclear. A total of 260 billion euros was frozen.
In December 2025, the EU approved an indefinite freeze on Russian assets until the end of the war. Previously, the freeze periods were extended on a regular basis.
Euroclear earns profit from the frozen Russian assets. Since 2024, that profit has been directed toward funding aid for Ukraine.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.